CA bill aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ youth encourages parents to affirm their child's gender identity

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) -- The California Assembly Judiciary Committee advanced a bill Tuesday aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ youth that encourages parents to affirm their child's gender identity.

Assembly Bill 957, also known as the TGI (Transgender, Gender-Diverse, and Intersex) Youth Empowerment Act, was created by Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City).

The initial legislation said courts deciding custody cases must consider whether each parent affirmed the child's gender.

AB 957 encourages parents who support their TGI children by "making it clear that affirming a child's gender identity is part of the health, safety, and welfare of the child."

It also allows courts to consider a parent's affirmation of their child's gender identity when making decisions about visitation and custody.

"If you have a child going through that system, a judge has discretion, like they do looking at the totality of circumstances related to the health, safety and welfare of a child, to consider different factors," said Wilson, who's the mother of a trans child. "One of the factors, not the factor, but one of the factors, would be the parent's affirmation of a child's gender identity."

The bill will also require courts to "strongly consider" that affirming a child's gender identity is "in the best interest of the child" when one parent doesn't consent to a child's legal name change to conform with the child's gender identity.

It would also classify parents in custody battles as abusive if they refuse to affirm their child's gender identity.

"We're seeing that this group in particular is being targeted and it's hurtful," said Wilson. "It's painful in recognizing that this is such a small subset of our population. It is a minority part of our population and we have people who have power who are targeting such a vulnerable portion of our population."

According to the The Trevor Project, 45% of LGBTQ+ youth considered attempting suicide in the past year. More than half of them identify as transgender and nonbinary.

However, there are grassroots organizations that oppose this law all over the state.

"There is no nuance in this bill. It matters not the age of the child, the absurdity of the identity, adopted comorbid mental health issues or persistence," said Erin Friday, an attorney who spoke during Tuesday's hearing.

Another woman said she was a concerned parent who told the committee she was "concerned about the mental health of our children."

"I am against this bill," she said.

It will be up to the judge to determine how gender affirming or supportive of gender and identity a parent is.

The committee also discussed possible amendments to the bill. It now heads to the California State Senate for a vote.