California Attorney General Distorts Meaning of ‘Protect Kids’ Initiative

California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks during a news conference in San Francisco on Nov. 15, 2021. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Commentary

Why is this controversial? Isn’t protecting children the main aim of government? Yet there is massive opposition to the “Protect Kids of California Act of 2024” initiative, which needs 546,651 signatures to qualify for the Nov. 5 ballot. Here’s what it would do, according to the sponsors, Protect Kids California:

• Requires schools to notify parents regarding children’s mental health concerns identified in school settings, including gender identification issues.
• Protects girls competitive sports and school spaces to be for biological girls only.
• Prevents the sterilization of children by prohibiting the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, mastectomies and genital surgeries for minors.

In California, the title and summary read by voters when they decide initiatives is written by the attorney general, currently Rob Bonta. Appointed to the post in 2021, his descriptions for the 2022 initiatives were sensible. They were definitely an improvement on his predecessor, Xavier Becerra, who became President Joe Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services.