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California State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, urged parents to “flee” the state before it’s too late if they “love their children” in response to what he calls alarming language in a gender identity bill. Legislation AB 957 cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee with an 8-1 vote on Tuesday.
Conservative outlet The Daily Signal reported that the warning followed a Democratic senator’s recent amendment to identify “gender affirmation” among children’s needs for “health, safety and welfare.” If parents refuse to affirm their child’s preferred gender, they could face child abuse charges and lose custody disputes.
Critics of the bill say its ambiguous language could mean that parents get slapped with false allegations.
“In the past when we’ve had these discussions and I’ve seen parental rights atrophy, I’ve encouraged people to keep fighting. I’ve changed my mind on that,” Wilk said. “If you love your children, you need to flee California. You need to flee.”
After some listeners applauded his remark, Wilk added that he himself plans to not stay in the state once he leaves the legislature.
“I was born and raised in this state. I love this state, but I’m not going to stay in this state. It’s just too oppressive and I believe in freedom and so I’m going to move to America when I leave the legislature,” he said.
AB 957, was initially authored by Democratic Assembly member Lori Wilson and State Senator Scott Weiner, who also co-sponsored it.
A spokesperson for Sen. Wilson tried to downplay concerns over the amendment, saying previously, “It’s not saying [affirmation] is the most important factor or determining factor. It’s one of many factors that the judge should consider while working out a custody agreement.”
Weiner, a representative from San Francisco, also introduced a bill that would require foster parents to affirm the gender of a child entering their home and a third piece of legislation, SB 107, that would grant access to sex changes for minors without parental consent.
The current gender-affirming bill created enough concern that Wilk said he is convinced legislators should not only protect children but also begin to protect parents.
“I’m now in year 11 in the state legislature, and all the time we’re proposing policies to protect children. After 11 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to start protecting parents,” he said.
“That’s just not happening. I’ve been here and witnessed a full-frontal assault on charter schools, taking away parents’ choice in how their children are going to be educated to the detriment particularly of children of color. In recent years, we have put government bureaucrats between parents, children, and doctors when it comes to medical care—and now we have this [AB 957] where if a parent does not support the ideology of the government, they’re [children] going to be taken away from the home…”
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