California governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 107 last night. The law is billed as making California a “sanctuary” state for transgender children, but the clear intent of the bill is to empower parents–including non-custodial parents–to flee to California with their child if they claim they are doing so to provide “gender affirming care.”

The bill also empowers the court to take custody of children seeking gender affirming care, regardless of the wishes of parents. Newsom calls it a parental rights bill (meaning the parent who wants to transition the minor), but if both parents object the court can take custody in any case and facilitate transition regardless.

The scope of the bill is as breathtaking as the governor’s willingness to deceive in promoting it. Newsom is presenting the bill as empowering parents to seek care for their children, but the text of the bill makes it clear that its intent is to open the floodgates for medical treatments on children whose custodial parents object.

This is a kidnapper sanctuary bill, not a transgender protection bill. It also serves to facilitate children running away from their parents.

Sound bizarre? It is, and at least some of it is blatantly unconstitutional for obvious reasons.

The bill:

• rejects court orders from other states if the order is in any way related to gender affirming care
• decriminalizes and essentially immunizes what amounts to kidnapping of children if the purpose is providing gender affirming care
• empowers the court to take away parental rights if they stand in the way of a child seeking gender affirming care.
• denies parents the right to medical records
• rejects subpoenas from other states

There is much more in there. A summary is provided by the California legislature.

From the L.A. Times:

In a signing message, Newsom said that state laws attempting to ban medical care for transgender people younger than 18 “demonize” the community and are an act of hate.

“In California we believe in equality and acceptance. We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need — including gender-affirming care,” Newsom said. “Parents know what’s best for their kids, and they should be able to make decisions around the health of their children without fear. We must take a stand for parental choice.”

Only if that choice is transitioning the child; if not, parents are denied the right to have a say.

The new law prohibits California courts and attorneys from enforcing subpoenas requested by other states about gender-affirming care for minors, and healthcare providers from releasing medical information.

The bill also declares that any potential out-of-state arrest warrant for violating laws related to such care will be given “the lowest law enforcement priority.”

The law is blatantly unconstitutional because it violates the “full faith and credit” clause. Because of this likelihood the bill was amended to allow for “severability,” which means that each provision can be adjudicated on its own, and striking down one will not invalidate the entire law.

Whether SB 107 itself will be upheld in court is also in question because of federal requirements that states must recognize out-of-state laws when residents travel.

Last-minute amendments to the bill include a severability clause because “it is unclear whether this bill will run afoul of the Constitution,” according to a legislative analysis of the measure. Severability allows parts of a law to remain in effect even if other provisions are struck down.

Wiener acknowledged that uncertainty, and said that the bill was crafted carefully to avoid violations of the U.S. Constitution, but said that California should not act as “an arm of law enforcement of the states of Texas or Alabama.”

“We may have limits under the U.S. Constitution, but we are going to go right up to the edge of what we’re able to do to protect them and say, ‘Unless we are absolutely forced to send you back, we are not going to send you back,'” he said of potential families of transgender youth who may come to California.

The bill is, not to put too fine a point on it, insane. California has always considered itself a state apart, but this amounts to a Declaration of Independence from the country. Newsom and the California legislature have declared themselves above the law.

And why? They want to ease the path to genital mutilation of minors.