Lawmakers in California passed a bill making “affirmation” of a child’s preferred gender identity a factor to be considered by judges in custody battles.
The legislation includes “a parent’s affirmation of the child’s gender identity” as a component of the “health, safety, and welfare of the child” when judges make rulings on custody and visitation. Lawmakers in the California Assembly overwhelmingly approved the bill on Friday after the California Senate advanced the measure earlier this year. The bill currently awaits the signature of California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who has until the middle of October to approve the measure and several other bills related to transgenderism.
Equality California, the most powerful lobbying entity for the LGBT movement in the state, supported the legislation. California Democratic Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, who introduced the bill, previously said in a press release that the bill would help youth at a “higher risk of depression, mental health crises, self-harm and suicide than their cisgender peers.”
“Family courts are required to consider a variety of factors when determining the best interest of the child for the purposes of custody and visitation, including the health, safety and welfare of the child, any history of abuse, and history of substance abuse,” commented Wilson, who also claimed that she is the mother of a “trans child.”
Judges in California have already granted preferential treatment toward parents who “affirm” their child’s purported transgender identity. When Christine Hudacko divorced her husband, Ted Hudacko, and claimed that their fifteen-year-old son was transgender, California Superior Court Judge Joni Hiramoto granted Christine sole custody. Hiramoto eventually stripped Ted, a software engineer at Apple, of his ability to visit or speak with his son.
Max Graves, the senior pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Norwalk, California, said in comments to The Sentinel that the new legislation would likely lead to further difficulties for Christians pursuing adoption and foster care, as well as those seeking to provide their children with distinctly Christian education through homeschooling or private schools. He also contended that the state was claiming authority and power which only belongs to God.
“What we have is the state claiming that they are Lord and Savior,” he remarked. “The state is saying you must believe this, and if you do not, you will be punished. Why do they tell us this? Because they have to ‘save’ the children. This is a lie. The state is a false Christ.”
California has previously enacted aggressive measures meant to support minors identifying themselves as transgender. Newsom signed a bill into law last year introduced by California Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener in order to “protect trans kids and their families” if they move to California from Alabama, Texas, Idaho, or other states criminalizing child genital mutilation. The law, endorsed by Equality California and Planned Parenthood, protects parents “from having their kids taken away from them or from being criminally prosecuted.”
