A new bill being considered by the California State Senate would punish people who “willfully and repeatedly” refuse “to use a transgender resident’s preferred name or pronouns” in a public health, retirement or housing institution.
The bill, SB 219, was proposed by State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). It includes several other provisions that require a health facility, for example, to honor the gender identity of a patient, meaning that the patient must be admitted to a room that comports with his or her chosen gender; allowed to use whatever bathroom he or she wants to use; and wear whatever clothing or cosmetics he or she decides to wear. It has gone through several amendments.
CBN News notes: “Fines for repeat offenders could be as high as $1,000 and a jail term of up to a year.”
CBN also reports the testimony of the California Family Council’s Greg Burt:
How can you believe in free speech, but think the government can compel people to use certain pronouns when talking to others? … This is not tolerance. This is not love. This is not mutual respect. True tolerance tolerates people with different views. We need to treat each other with respect, but respect is a two-way street. It is not respectful to threaten people with punishment for having sincerely held beliefs that differ from your own.
California Democrats have also taken up the transgender cause as part of their “resistance” to President Donald Trump. In February, when the Trump administration reversed an Obama administration directive on transgender bathrooms in public schools, thus allowing states and local communities to set their own policies again, California protestedvigorously in favor of the idea that the federal government should impose a uniform standard everywhere as a matter of civil rights.
Joel B. Pollak
