A California ballot initiative to protect children from transgender issues could have a wider impact
Protecting Kids in California: A Battle Against Radical Gender Ideology
The Democrats who run California love “transitioning” kids, including chemically and surgically sterilizing them. But a courageous group of residents is betting California voters are less radical than their politicians and that the tide can turn against gender ideology even on the West Coast.
A proposed ballot initiative by Protect Kids California would put the Golden State’s radical “trans kids” agenda — which has previously been checked only by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s presidential ambition — before the people.
The initiative would enact three policies:
- End the practice of government schools socially transitioning children without informing parents.
- Require sex-specific spaces and sports to be based on biological sex, not self-declared “gender identity.”
- Prohibit medically transitioning children with chemicals, hormones, and surgeries.
These worthy goals might seem impossible. Even as many other states have enacted such policies, California’s leaders have doubled down on radical gender ideology and transitioning children. But the organizers of the initiative point to polling to argue that California’s voters are on their side on this issue, even if Californians tend to vote for Democrats who are in the grip of gender ideology and the transgender lobby. Erin Friday, one of the leaders of the effort, is a lifelong Democrat, and she is convinced there are many more like her who find the transgender industry’s targeting of children abhorrent.
She may be right. The campaign’s website highlights polling showing that the public is with them, and in an email to me, Friday shared additional polling commissioned by the feminist Women’s Liberation Front showing overwhelming support for the child-protection policies this ballot initiative would enact.
This ballot initiative would protect children from outside California as well. As Friday has explained, California is a sanctuary state for sexual experiments on children. In the name of gender ideology, California now refuses to return runaways to their out-of-state parents, pays for minors to be chemically and surgically castrated, and shields doctors who flee to California after breaking the laws of other states. Winning in California is a victory for everyone.
Thus California’s Democrat establishment will do everything it can to stop this. The state attorney general has already written a biased and inaccurate summary of the measure (the title line is literally “RESTRICTS RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDER YOUTH”) that by law is included on the petition pages. And additional resistance is sure to follow — for example, petition signatures will be rigorously scrutinized by people who otherwise denounce election-integrity measures as racist.
The debate over the measure will be ugly. Its opponents will undoubtedly resort to suicide threats early and often, declaring that this law will push kids to kill themselves. It won’t, but telling kids to take themselves hostage is the transgender movement’s main weapon. After all, the only harm that can come from not transitioning is self-harm. Furthermore, there is no good evidence that castrating or mutilating kids reduces suicides. And in other contexts, we recognize that constantly threatening suicide is manipulative and abusive.
The ugliness won’t end just because the election does. If this measure gets on the ballot and passes, there will be lawsuits. There will be protests that turn into riots. There will be promises of noncompliance from government officials and employees. But it will all be worth it.
If gender ideology goes down in California, it will fall everywhere. Even the most committed Democrats (and the most craven Republicans — looking at you, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine) will have to acknowledge that it is a political liability. And the collapse could be swift. Many people went along with radical gender ideology not out of conviction, but because they were afraid of being caught on the wrong side of the latest front in the cultural revolution. They will happily abandon it if their fear is taken away, and defeating transgender radicalism in California will do that.
There is work to do before that happy future is realized. The initiative has yet to qualify for the ballot, let alone pass. California residents can print out the petition, sign it, and mail it in. They can also volunteer. And everyone can donate to help fund the effort. Collecting more than a half-million valid signatures isn’t free, to say nothing of countering the mass of lies the media will tell about it.
But it is worth the attempt. 2023 brought a lot of victories in protecting children in Republican states from transgender insanity, but victory requires going on offense, even — especially — in California.
How does the proposed ballot initiative by Protect Kids California aim to protect children’s well-being and what specific measures does it seek to implement
Ds is medically necessary or beneficial. The science overwhelmingly shows that most children who experience gender dysphoria will eventually grow out of it and come to accept their biological sex.
But despite this evidence, the transgender lobby and their allies in the media and academia continue to push the narrative that transitioning is the only solution for these children. They ignore the potential harms and risks associated with medical interventions such as hormonal treatments and surgeries, which can have serious lifelong consequences for these vulnerable kids.
Protect Kids California aims to change this dangerous trend and protect the well-being of children in the state. The proposed ballot initiative seeks to end the practice of government schools socially transitioning children without parental consent. It also aims to ensure that sex-specific spaces and sports remain based on biological sex, not self-declared gender identity. Furthermore, it seeks to prohibit the medically transitioning of children using chemicals, hormones, and surgeries.
These policies are not radical or discriminatory. They are common-sense measures that prioritize the safety and well-being of children. Yet, California’s Democrat establishment and activists are already doing everything they can to stop this initiative from moving forward. The state attorney general has issued a biased and inaccurate summary of the measure, using language that portrays it as restricting the rights of transgender youth.
The opposition to this initiative will undoubtedly be fierce, with opponents resorting to emotional blackmail and baseless claims that the enactment of these policies will lead to increased suicide rates among transgender youth. However, the truth is that pushing young children into irreversible medical interventions without proper evaluation and informed consent is the real harm.
Protect Kids California is backed by research and polling that shows public support for these child-protection policies. It is reassuring to know that Californians are not as radical as their politicians and that there are people from all political backgrounds who find the targeting of children by the transgender industry abhorrent.
By protecting children in California, this initiative will also serve as a victory for children across the nation. California has become a sanctuary state for unethical experimentation on minors, and winning here will send a message that the well-being of children should always be prioritized over radical ideologies.
The battle to protect kids in California from radical gender ideology will be challenging. The initiative’s supporters will face resistance, biased summaries, and scrutiny of petition signatures. However, the fight is worth it because the future of countless children depends on it.
It is time to put children’s well-being above politics and ideology. Protect Kids California is leading the charge, and it is up to the people of California to stand up for their children and support this crucial ballot initiative. Every child deserves the right to grow, explore their identity, and make informed decisions about their bodies when they are mature enough to do so. Protecting kids in California is a battle that must be won.
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