NASHVILLE (BP) – A political shift in LGBT policy is evident across the country this week. Legislation passed in California July 15 gives public schools the ability to conceal when students change their names and pronouns. On the same day, the Republican National Convention passed a platform that was stripped of “anti-LBGT” language, policy leaders say.
The California legislation, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom July 15, prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to inform parents when students tells school leaders they want to change their name or the pronouns used to refer to them.
“It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when and how families have deeply personal conversations,” Brandon Richards, a spokesman for Newsom told Fox News.
Opponents of the bill quickly expressed outrage.
“Governor Newsom’s signing of AB 1955 is a direct assault on the safety of children and the rights of their parents. By allowing schools to withhold vital information from mothers and fathers, this bill undermines their fundamental role and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy,” said Jonathan Keller, president of the California Family Council.
“Moms and dads have both a constitutional and divine mandate to guide and protect their kids, and AB 1955 egregiously violates this sacred trust,” he said.
The California Family Council is the official partner of the California Southern Baptist Convention and represents its voice on public policy matters.
Leaders from the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) echoed Keller’s sentiments.
“This summer in Indianapolis, Southern Baptists affirmed that parents – not the state – ‘are the primary stewards of and decision-makers for their children,’” ERLC President Brent Leatherwood told Baptist Press. “This new law in California is an affront to God’s design both for gender and sexuality but also to the God-ordained role of parents. There is no room for the state between parents and children in these matters.”
He is referring to the resolution “On the God-Given Rights and Responsibilities of Parents,” passed by messengers at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting in June.
The resolution calls on “parents to exercise their rights and responsibilities to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children, under the authority of God, recognizing that they will be held responsible for their choices.”
In an almost prophetic passage, it also called “the state to partner with, rather than act contrary to, the family unit, enacting legislation that protects and upholds parental rights, ensuring that parents have the freedom to make decisions regarding the upbringing, education, and healthcare of their children without undue interference, recognizing that parents are the primary arbiters of a child’s moral and spiritual formation.”
ERLC Vice President and Chief of Staff Miles Mullin told Baptist Press, “… lawmakers in California have grossly and recklessly overstepped their authority. The primary responsibility for the wellbeing of children lies with parents, not the state, which should do everything in its power to protect the rights of parents to raise their children in accordance with their beliefs – including their beliefs regarding gender and sexuality.”
He said California has taken steps to undermine the family “by forcing teachers, counselors, and other school staff members to hide information about their children.”
Mullin pointed out other parents-rights cases being fought in the U.S., such as Parent 1 v. Montgomery County and Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire.
He believes the matter will be settled only by the U.S. Supreme Court when it agrees to hear a parents-rights case. While the High Court has declined to hear the Parent 1 case, Mullin is hopeful it will hear the Parents Protecting Our Children case. The ERLC filed an amicus brief in both cases.
A Southern California school district has already filed suit against Newsom challenging the new legislation. The Chino Valley Unified School District is represented by the Liberty Justice Center in the suit.
“PK-12 minor students, most of whom are too young to drive, vote, or provide medical consent for themselves, are also too young to make life-altering decisions about their expressed gender identity without their parents’ knowledge. But that is precisely what AB 1955 enables – with potentially devastating consequences for children too young to fully comprehend them,” said Emily Rae, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, in a statement July 16.
Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, leaders of the Log Cabin Republicans are celebrating what they call a win for LGBT rights at the Republican National Convention.
“It’s official! The national GOP platform has been stripped of all anti-LGBT language! Inclusion won! Thank you @realDonaldTrump!,” Charles T. Moran, the group’s president, posted on X July 15.
The Washington, D.C.-based group says it is “the nation’s original and largest organization representing LGBT conservatives and straight allies who support fairness, freedom, and equality for all Americans.”
In a July 15 interview with NBC News, Eric Trump, one of former President Donald Trump’s sons, was asked about omissions in this year’s Republican Party platform – namely, any mention of a federal abortion ban or defining marriage as between one man and one woman. It’s the first time in generations neither plank can be found in the GOP platform.
“I think he’s (Donald Trump) always been there on those issues to tell you the truth, and I think that’s reflective of who my father is and what he believes in. And I think that’s reflective of, of my wife Lara, who runs the RNC, and clearly what she believes in,” Eric Trump said. Lara Trump is co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
“This country has real holes in the roof, and you’ve got to fix those holes and stop worrying about the spot on the wall in the basement,” Eric Trump said. Instead, he added, the country should focus on issues such as immigration, fentanyl and the economy.
Leatherwood said despite the culture’s move away from a Christian worldview, Christians must not abandon their assignment.
“Regardless of the political parties’ unwillingness to stand firm for what is true, Christians must hold fast to God’s design for the sake of the Gospel and the flourishing of our neighbors,” he said. “Speaking truth – as given to us in Scripture – into the public square is needed now as much as ever.”
