A FINA ruling has made Lia Thomas ineligible to swim in the Olympics.
Many may remember voting for the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” One didn’t need to read beyond the title to know that everyone wants “safe neighborhoods and schools.” The prop. passed 59.61 to 40.39 percent.
Not many asked how Proposition 47 was going to make neighborhoods safer.
Several paragraphs down, it was noted that crimes would be reclassified. Shoplifting, grand theft, forgery, fraud and writing a bad check – as long as the amount was under $950 – would now be classified as a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. Drug use below a certain threshold would no longer be a felony, either.
By not throwing people into prison for felonies, supposedly the money saved from incarceration would be used for mental health service, substance-use disorder and diversion programs. The law was intended to decrease the prison population and offer alternative support for offenders.
Instead theft-related crimes have risen, as thieves frequently target items below the $950 threshold, knowing there will be little or no repercussions.
These policies have contributed to California ranking among the hardest-hit states for retail theft. An effort to amend the Proposition, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, is now planned for the November 2024 ballot.
Residents need to read beyond the Proposition headline. Or should there be “truth in advertising?”
In California, proponents of a ballot initiative submit it to the Attorney General, who then is supposed to label it with a neutral heading.
Attorney General Rob Bonta has now come under legal action for his “rebranding” of a ballot initiative, proposed for November. The Liberty Justice Center has partnered with attorneys Nicole Person and Erin Friday to sue him asking him to follow the law.
The initiative presented to him was “Protect Kids of California Act of 2024.” It required schools notify parents if children are transitioning their gender in school; whether schools should align locker rooms and participation on sports teams with student’s sex; and if sex-change surgeries should be available to minors.
As a parent, who the state holds responsible for minors until 18 and whose children stay on health insurance until they are 26, I don’t think its unreasonable to ask to be notified. As a mother of a girl, I don’t want bathrooms shared with males with intact genitalia, who think they may be girls. Give them their own bathrooms.
England’s National Health Service has stopped prescribing puberty blockers for children and teens with gender dysphoria. That was announced on March 15 because there is “not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty suppressing hormones.”
But instead of a neutral title for Protect Kids of California, Bonta came back with “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth Initiative,” because he says the initiative “prohibits transgender students (grades 7+) from participating in female sports.”
The Protect Kids initiative also states “parents or legal guardians of a student have the legal right to be informed of any psychosocial or psychological treatments . . .conducted by or through the school” and that “schools must provide the opportunity for parents . . .to involved with the child’s experience at school.”
Instead Bonta claims the initiative is dangerous to transgender kids because the school is required to notify parents even if the kids’ safety is at risk.
The initiative specifically states that existing safeguards to protect children from parental abuse are unaffected.
Why call it “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth?” Because most people won’t read beyond the title, and since this is America, we all agree that rights should not be restricted.
The people suing Bonta say that he has an agenda and is using his power by incorporating lies into his “biased” summary.
A trial over this initiative is set to begin on April 19.
The petition, which must be printed and signed and then can be mailed in, even with only one signature on it (every signature counts!) can be found here:
https://protectkidsca.com/sign-petitions/. Signatures are due by May 15.