The bill, AB 1084, states its goal is to speed up the legal process for Californians to change legal documents, such as a marriage license or birth certificate, if they believe they are the opposite gender.
A small portion of the bill pertains to adult petitioners, meaning Rick and Rita can change their marriage certificate to Rachel and Rita. If the bill becomes law, they can so quickly without a court hearing.
However, the word “adult petitioners” is used only once in the bill’s text, AFN found, but “minor” is sprinkled throughout the bill in 24 instances.
Greg Burt, of California Family Council, tells AFN the most worrisome portions in the bill’s text are references to “good cause.” That legal reference, found 10 times in the bill, pertains to a parent’s stated objections in front of a judge.
According to Burt and CFC, the bill pretends to respect legal parental authority if one of the parent objects. If a parent objects, the bill states, the judge will consider the objection if it demonstrates “good cause” to the court.
California Family cautiously warns that it a “bait and switch” tactic, however, since what is not “good cause” is bluntly defined in the bill: A parent stating their child was born a boy, or a girl, and should remain so on the California birth certificate.
Since that is the most likely objection a judge will hear from a parent, the bill’s co-sponsors likely anticipated that. Hence the bill states a judge is not allowed to consider it:
Objections based solely on concerns that the proposed change is not the petitioners actual gender identity or gender assigned at birth shall not constitute good cause
"And so what this ends up doing is every Christian parent, who believes that a child's sex is determined by their biology,” Burt warns, “is not gonna be able to stop their minor from changing the sex listed on their birth certificate."
