Legislative Update - SB 219 - 10/4/17

The state capitol is buzzing as we wait out the final days for the Governor to sign bills into law. Below are a few bills we are watching along with where they currently are in the legislative process.

 

SB 219 - signed by Governor Brown on 10/4/17

 

SB 219 forces biological female residents in long-term care facilities to share sleeping quarters with biological males, and vice versa. This bill grants preferential rights to LGBT residents and leaves others with little to no right to privacy. This bill is ripe for abuse as the requirement is simply to self-proclaim one's gender identity. This bill could easily be used as a tool by perpetrators to prey upon unsuspecting, vulnerable victims.

 

SB 219 also demands that facilities, such as restrooms, open to persons of one gender must be available to those of the same gender identity. This becomes especially problematic when facilities, such as bathrooms, are multiple use.

 

This bill demands that facility staff use a person's "preferred pronoun," but how does staff know what the preferred pronoun is? Can this change during the resident's time in the facility? Staff who do not address patients by their preferred pronoun could be found guilty of a misdemeanor.

 

SB 239 - signed by Governor Brown on 10/6/17

 

SB 239 lowers the penalty for knowingly and intentionally exposing someone to HIV from a felony to a misdemeanor. Intentionally exposing someone to a disease that if contracted will forever alter their life is a serious wrong, and should be treated with the utmost seriousness under the law. Lowering the penalty for this act does not do that.

 

SB 179 - on Governor Brown's desk

 

SB 179 weakens, essentially deletes, any requirements for an individual to change their gender on their birth certificate. A person must submit an application and an affidavit stating that they are submitting the change to conform their legal gender with their gender identity and not for a fraudulent purpose. An individual does not have to have undergone any treatment, be planning to undergo treatment, or provide a doctor's note.

 

In addition, the application for an identification card from the DMV would include the gender choices of male, female, and non-binary. An applicant is not required to provide any information in addition to the application.

Imagine the many problems that will result for law enforcement officials from this free-for-all, self-identifying gender selection. Trying to identify an individual would become increasingly difficult if an individual's sex does not match what's listed on their identification.

 

Call and ask Governor Brown to VETO SB 179: 

(916) 445-2841 

 

AB 569 - on Governor Brown's desk

 

AB 569 prohibits employers from including in an employee handbook, or code of conduct, anything related to reproductive health care decisions, including abortion. For example, a church or a Christian school could not make it against their code of conduct for women to obtain abortions during their employment, even though it is contrary to that school's moral and deeply held religious beliefs. This bill is a violent assault on religious liberty, as well as massive government overreach.

 

Call and ask Governor Brown to VETO AB 569: 

(916) 445-2841