Group Sues Newsom For Hiding Child Gender Status From Parents

A conservative legal nonprofit is suing California Gov. Gavin Newsom for state prohibitions that prevent schools from telling parents about student requests to identify as a different gender without the student’s consent.

In July, the state’s far-left governor signed Assembly Bill 1955, which bars school officials from notifying parents when their children go by different names or request to use bathrooms for the opposite sex unless the children consent to the notification. The bill further bars any policy that would require schools to inform parents of their child’s gender “transition.” The pro-Trump legal foundation, America First Legal, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to challenge the law on behalf of California parents and the City of Huntington Beach, which has been resisting Sacramento radicalism since conservatives captured a majority on the town council two years ago.

“This law violates the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the rights of parents to make decisions about their minor children regarding all medical treatment — in this case, social ‘transitioning,’” the nonprofit said in a press release. “Fit parents are presumed to act in the best interest of their child. The government cannot intervene in their relationship simply because it does not like the parents’ decision.”

The California law is the first of its kind at the statewide level, as many parents grapple with whether to remain on the West Coast given the hostility toward parents who protest radical gender policy. Last year, California Republican state Sen. Scott Wilk bluntly recommended parents “flee” to keep their children.

“In the past when we’ve had these discussions and I’ve seen parental rights atrophy, I’ve encouraged people to keep fighting,” Wilk said. “I’ve changed my mind on that,” Wilk added. “If you love your children, you need to flee California. You need to flee.”

Wilk said he would likely leave the state himself once he is finished serving as a senator.

“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.

California is one of 14 states that have now passed laws to identify as “sanctuary states” for children who believe they have a gender identity that conflicts with their biological sex. Governors in these states have signed legislation to “shield” children seeking transgender medical interventions from restrictions on such procedures in their home states. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is one of these governors, and he signed a bill last year to grant local courts “temporary emergency jurisdiction” in custody cases for children pursuing permanent transgender treatments.

America First Legal has filed a series of lawsuits challenging state-sponsored gender ideology in at least three other states, including Washington, Wisconsin, and Arizona.

“America First Legal is proud to be leading the courtroom battle for parental rights and the defense of children nationwide,” said the group’s president, Stephen Miller, in a statement.