California governor vetoes bill requiring custody courts to weigh affirmation of gender identity | EUROtoday

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that will have required judges to contemplate whether or not a guardian affirms their baby’s gender identity when making custody and visitation choices.

In asserting his veto Friday evening, Newsom launched an announcement saying he has “a deep commitment to advancing the rights of transgender Californians” that has guided his decisions while in office.

“That said, I urge caution when the Executive and Legislative branches of state government attempt to dictate — in prescriptive terms that single out one characteristic — legal standards for the Judicial branch to apply. Other-minded elected officials, in California and other states, could very well use this strategy to diminish the civil rights of vulnerable communities,” the governor’s assertion mentioned.

The bill would have made gender affirmation one issue amongst many who courts have already got to contemplate in custody proceedings, together with whether or not a guardian has been abusive and the way a lot contact the kid has with the mother and father.

The bill wouldn’t have required judges to prioritize whether or not a guardian affirms their baby’s gender identity over different components. What affirmation appears like varies relying on the actual baby and their age, mentioned Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Democrat who launched the bill. She has an grownup son who got here out as transgender when he was a youngster.

Wilson mentioned Friday that she was dissatisfied by the governor’s veto.

“I’ve been disheartened over the last few years as I watched the rising hate and heard the vitriol toward the trans community. My intent with this bill was to give them a voice, particularly in the family court system where a non-affirming parent could have a detrimental impact on the mental health and well-being of a child,” Wilson mentioned in an announcement.

Newsom mentioned present legal guidelines already require courts to contemplate well being, security and welfare when figuring out the most effective pursuits of a toddler in custody instances, together with the guardian’s affirmation of the kid’s gender identity.

Every Republican within the Senate voted in opposition to the bill, with state Sen. Kelly Seyarto, who represents Murrieta in Southern California, arguing that lawmakers had been interfering an excessive amount of with how mother and father select to increase their kids.

“Inserting this into the mix is going to pit one parent against the other and make things worse,” Seyarto mentioned on the time.

The veto comes amid intense political battles throughout the nation over transgender rights, together with efforts to impose bans on gender-affirming care, bar trans athletes from women and girls’s sports activities, and require faculties to notify mother and father if their kids ask to use completely different pronouns or adjustments their gender identity.

Also Friday, Newsom vetoed a bill to require human drivers on board self-driving vans and one other measure that will have barred state jail officers from sharing details about incarcerated immigrants with federal officers.