California anti-transgender activists to unveil 3 proposed ballot measures at Capitol

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CONSERVATIVE GROUP TO ANNOUNCE TRIO OF PROPOSED ANTI-TRANSGENDER BALLOT INITIATIVES

Riverside Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli’s bill to force California schools to out transgender students to their parents never got a hearing in the Assembly. But it could soon get a hearing from California voters.

Essayli is set to join Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, on the west steps of the Capitol at 3 p.m. Monday to unveil a trio of proposed anti-transgender ballot initiatives.

Joining the Republican lawmakers are conservative activists Jonathan Zachreson, Scott Davison and Jay Reed; speakers Erin Friday of the group Our Duty; former NCAA athlete Sophia Lorey of the conservative California Family Council, and “de-transitioner” Chloe Cole, who headlined her own event at the Capitol earlier this year.

The activists, calling themselves Protect Kids California, are looking to advance three ballot initiatives that would:

• Force schools to notify parents if their child uses a different name or pronouns;

• Block transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports programs;

• Block transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming medical treatment.

Once a proposed ballot measure has been written, its language must be submitted to the California Attorney General’s Office for review. It will then have until Oct. 26 to prepare a title and summary, at which point the measure’s backers will be cleared to begin circulating petitions for signatures.

Proposed initiative statutes require 546,651 signatures, while constitutional amendments require 874,641, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.

May 9, 2024, is the last day for the California secretary of state to determine whether an initiative petition meets the minimum signature requirement.

An account for Protect Kids California on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, points to polling it says shows that California voters would support the measures. The group doesn’t cite the source of the polling on its website.

The event was promoted on X by Northern California chapters of the group Moms for Liberty, which has been designated as an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

This event comes amid increased anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and violence. On Aug. 18, a far right conspiracy theorist fatally shot a Southern California woman — Laura Ann Carleton — when she confronted him removing her LGBTQ Pride flag.

Transgender youths are more likely to experience bullying and harassment at school, to have suicidal thoughts and to attempt to take their own lives.

In the past, Essayli has argued that “children are the domain of their parents, not the government,” and he has pointed to a study showing that parental support of LGBTQ youths leads to fewer depression symptoms.

But studies also show that fewer than a third (32%) of trans and nonbinary youths view their home as a safe and affirming place, and that trans and gender-nonconforming adolescents are more likely to be victims of abuse.

The majority of the medical establishment — including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, as well as the World Professional Association for Transgender Health — believe that gender-affirming medical care “improves quality of life” for transgender minors.

A March 2021 study showed that the “regret rate” for transgender people who underwent any type of gender affirmation surgery was less than 1% for transmasculine surgeries and approximately 1% for transfeminine surgeries.

“Based on this review, there is an extremely low prevalence of regret in transgender patients after (gender affirmation surgery),” according to the study.

Another study, published earlier this month, found that that “median decisional regret score” for transgender people who received a mastectomy as part of their gender-affirming care was “0 on a 100-point scale.”

Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ issues in the Legislature, tweeted Friday likening this ballot measure effort to a 70s-era push to bar LGBTQ people from being teachers in the state.

“The voters rejected that hateful measure. Now, in 2023 California, they’re at it again, this time targeting trans kids. And we’ll beat it again,” Wiener wrote.

TEARS ON THE ASSEMBLY FLOOR AFTER EMOTIONAL LAWMAKER SPEECHES

Via Lindsey Holden...

Assembly members were moved to tears on Thursday morning, as several lawmakers spoke emotionally about suicide and drew attention to prevention efforts.

Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, authored Assembly Concurrent Resolution 106, which proclaimed September Suicide Prevention Awareness month.

The Assembly chamber went quiet as Pellerin talked about her husband, who died by suicide in 2018. She said a suggestion to “put her grief to work” pushed her to become involved in suicide survivor and mental health organizations.

Pellerin said it was initially very challenging to talk about suicide after her husband’s death, and her daughter initially told people he died of a heart attack.

She said she is now vocal about suicide because it is preventable and mental illnesses are treatable.

“Suicide is not a selfish act,” Pellerin said. “It is something that happens when a person feels completely out of hope and is in a very dark place and loses their fear of death.”

Pellerin pushed the Assembly to recognize suicide as a public health crisis. She also said workplaces should provide suicide prevention awareness training for employees.

She urged her audience to check in with people about their mental health and openly ask about suicide, especially parents.

“I want everyone to accept that we all have a role in preventing suicide,” she said. “Learn the warning signs. Ask the difficult questions. And let family, friends and neighbors know they are not alone.”

After Pellerin finished her remarks, fellow Assembly members were wiping tears from their eyes. A line formed near her desk as lawmakers approached Pellerin to hug her and offer words of support.

Assemblyman Devon Mathis, R-Porterville — a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours of service in Iraq — also spoke.

Mathis said he and his fellow soldiers struggled with their mental health when they returned home. He said he had lost more “battle buddies” to suicide than he did during the war.

“I’ve shared before my experience as a veteran of being on the phone, traveling hours trying to keep friends on the phone because they were there, that they were at that point,” Mathis said.

He tearfully told fellow lawmakers how challenging it was to deal with the challenges of coming back from war, only to be given opioids as treatment.

“That cocktail of opioids and uppers and downers I was given messed me up,” Mathis said. “With all the emotional distress of being back, of wondering why God let me live through that to come home to what I came home to.”

Mathis said he attempted suicide. He eventually shared his struggles with an uncle who made sure he received help.

“It’s important that we talk about suicide,” Mathis said. “It is vital. But we have to talk about the depression and the other things that lead into the suicide.The self-medication that happens. The getting hooked on substances that happens.”

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides confidential assistance to anyone in crisis and their loved ones through a live chat and free 24-hour hotline: 800-273-8255. WellSpace Health operates the Sacramento region’s 24-hour hotline: 916-368-3111 or text HOPE to 916-668-4226.

SENATE R’S URGE LARA TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE INDUSTRY

The homeowners’ insurance industry in California is broken, and only Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has the power to fix it.

At least, that’s the argument advanced by the Senate Republican Caucus in a letter to Lara sent last week.

The letter points to Proposition 103 — the 1988 ballot initiative which requires insurance companies to receive “prior approval” from the California Department of Insurance before making rate changes — as the legal authority for Lara to step in to stop the hemorrhaging of home insurance providers in the Golden State.

This summer, Allstate, Farmers and State Farm all announced that they will no longer write new policies for California homeowners.

“Everyone knows the hard truths of what has to happen: there need to be rate adjustments; reinsurance and prospective catastrophic modeling need to be authorized; the rate review process needs to be accelerated; insurance discounts for home-hardening must be authorized; we need to modernize the insurance market,” the caucus wrote in the letter.

The Senate Republicans called on Lara to “begin the common sense solutions” needed, adding that they stand ready to provide legislative aid if statutory changes are necessary.

“We are eager to participate in any conversations about taking action to fix the market. We invite you to come speak to the California Senate Republican Caucus before the end of session so we can discuss our many ideas that will help reform the market to a stable platform where our constituents can actually purchase an insurance plan. We will accommodate around your schedule,” the letter adds.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If you’re Black with a mugshot you can’t get a job anywhere, but if you’re Trump with a mugshot you are still the Republican front runner for President…Make it make sense.”

- Assemblyman Isaac G. Bryan, D-Los Angeles, via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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