The group behind a proposed California state ballot initiative that would ban gender-altering procedures for minors says the state’s attorney general used inaccurate and biased language to change the ballot initiative’s title.
The initiative, called the Protect Kids California Act by its authors, was approved for consideration by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, but only after Bonta changed how the title of the initiative would appear on ballots—from the original title to the “Restrict Rights of Transgender Youth” act.
The group behind the initiative, called Protect Kids California, appealed to Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto, who ruled April 22 that Bonta’s title is a fair description.
The Protect Kids California Act would ban gender-altering treatments, including puberty blockers and hormones, mastectomies and genital surgeries, for those under 18. It would also require schools to notify parents if a student displays mental health concerns including gender identification issues, and prohibit biological males from girls’ sports participation and from female private spaces.
Protect Kids California has collected more than 220,000 signatures but needs 550,000 by May 15. The group says polling shows 68% of Californians, regardless of political affiliation, supports requirements for schools to notify parents of gender-related issues with students, and growing numbers are seeing the data showing the detrimental effects of gender-altering procedures for minors.
“Ultimately the attorney general is doing everything that he can to combat us,” Jonathan Zachreson, a Protect Kids California executive team member who also sits on the Roseville, California, school board, told the Family Research Council (FRC) on its “Washington Watch” podcast.
Zachreson said Bonta, a Democrat, “included language in the summary that just makes up information about our measure.” The group, Zachreson said, is looking at further legal action, arguing that California statutes clearly require ballot questions to be presented without bias to voters.
The statutes require the ballot to be “factual, it has to cover the chief points of the initiative, and not be prejudicial.” But, Zachreson added, “all three of those things … the attorney general did with our title and summary,” according to FRC’s Washington Stand.
Protect Kids California has links to sign the petition on its website, along with the opportunity for signers to share the petition with others digitally.
The ballot initiative comes on the heels of The Cass Review, a study commissioned by England’s National Health Service that criticizes a lack of evidence for the efficacy and safety of radical gender treatments for children. Several European nations and at least 14 U.S. states have begun restricting such procedures.
