CA Governor Claims Conservatives Push Misinformation

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (ChurchMilitant.com) - California's Democrat governor is blaming conservatives for pushing misinformation, while his state continues to decimate parental rights.

In a Tuesday interview with Politico's California bureau chief, Christopher Cadelago, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a self-identified Catholic, claimed many on the Right focus too heavily on trans issues and need to have more "grace and humility." 

"These culture wars have gone too far. At the same time,  I don't criticize those poor parents out there that have been ginned up," Gov. Newsom declared about parents riled up about California's so-called transgender policies.

"People are being ginned up. And so, I'm not here to criticize them. But there's a lot of misunderstanding, misrepresentation out there," claimed the California governor. "People are weaponizing these grievances against vulnerable communities, led by DeSantis, led by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, led by Greg Abbott. They have a zest for demonization and we need to call them out."

Newsom's response came as a sidestep maneuver after being asked about the issue of parents being notified by schools of their children's so-called gender identity. This comes after California's Democrat attorney general, Rob Bonta, decided in August to sue Chino Valley Unified School District over its "mandatory gender identity disclosure policy."

"The policy, adopted in July, requires schools to inform parents, with minimal exceptions, whenever a student requests to use a name or pronoun different from that on their birth certificate or official records, even without the student's permission," the press release described. "The policy also requires notification if a student requests to use facilities or participates in programs that don't align with their sex on official records."

"We're in court challenging Chino Valley Unified's forced outing policy for wrongfully and unconstitutionally discriminating against and violating the privacy rights of LGBTQ+ students," the California AG explained. "The forced outing policy wrongfully endangers the physical, mental and emotional well-being of nonconforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home."

San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Garza shelved the school policy last Wednesday, with the next court hearing on the case scheduled for Oct. 13. On the same day, the California State Assembly passed a resolution making the month of August "Transgender History Month" beginning in 2024.

In a celebratory social media post, Assemblymember Matt Haney expressed, "Trans people have always existed. In every era and in every culture, they have existed. As long as there has been the written word, there has been a record of trans people." 

"I believe that as Californians, our strongest defense against the anti-trans agenda is just to tell the truth," Haney also proclaimed. "Let's tell the truth about transgender people's lives, and let's lift up the history of the transgender Californians who left their mark on our great state."

In yet another legislative move last week, the State Assembly passed a bill on Friday threatening custody loss to parents who don't "affirm" their child's chosen identity or desire for medical mutilation. Assembly Bill 957 reads in part:

In making a determination of the best interests of the child in a proceeding ... the court shall, among any other factors it finds relevant and consistent ... consider ... the health, safety and welfare of the child, [which] includes, among other comprehensive factors, a parent's affirmation of the child's gender identity or gender expression. Affirmation includes a range of actions and will be unique for each child, but in every case, must promote the child's overall health and well-being.

"When you say that gender affirmation is in the child's best interest for health, safety and welfare, it takes nothing to say [nonaffirmation] is now abuse because you're not taking care of the health, safety and welfare if you're not affirming them," commented San Francisco attorney Erin Friday. 

"In the past, when we've had these discussions, and I've seen parental rights atrophied; I've encouraged people to keep fighting," Republican state Sen. Scott Wilk professed in June. "I've changed my mind on that. If you love your children, you need to flee California. You need to flee."

"Today, it only involves divorce proceedings. But I can assure you it's not going to end with divorce proceedings," claimed Wilk. "Born and raised in this state, I love this state. I'm not going to stay in this state, because it's just too oppressive. And I believe in freedom, and so I'm going to move to America when I leave the legislature."

Last year, Gov. Newsom signed a bill making California a trans sanctuary for out-of-state minors seeking different forms of mutilation, even against the wishes of their parents.

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