3 imprudent bills Jerry Brown should veto  

Don't mess with DMV, courts, police, banks, care homes, religious schools, hospitals

Sacramento, California -- Veteran California pro-family leader Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, has issued the following statement regarding three reckless bills passed by the California Legislature that Governor Jerry Brown should veto:

SB 179: "Increasing identity fraud that burdens law enforcement, government agencies, and financial institutions is not good public policy. The current process requiring a licensed physician to verify and a court to confirm gender change is reasonable and prudent. Identity fraud cost Americans $16 billion in 2016 and we must do more, not less, to combat it. Yet SB 179 mandates that a court illogically accept a subjective claim of gender change as 'conclusive proof' in a court of law. This is reason enough for a veto. Diminishing a legal identity verification process to paying a paltry $11 and permitting an unsubstantiated claim to magically morph into legal fact is both unnecessary and unsound."

SB 219: "Existing law prohibits care homes from discriminating on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, or actual or perceived gender identity (HSC 1569.269(b)). Yet this bill would unnecessarily and excessively penalize certain types of private speech at care facilities, and would impose criminal liability for wrong speech, including injurious fines and up to a year in jail. In particular, SB 219 would insensitively condemn care employees who are non-English speakers and who may misunderstand requests of a resident in gender change transition. Creating harsh criminal penalties is not a sensible solution to delicate communication problems that may arise at care facilities."

AB 569: "Religious entities have an inherent right to hold their own moral policies. Yet AB 569 brashly violates the bright line between Church and State, and puts government in the dangerous and ill-advised role of regulating religious practices. People have different views on abortion, and the State must resist imposing a certain opinion that creates more conflict by forcing religious schools and hospitals to abandon their dearly-held beliefs. What's more, AB 569 would usher in greater litigation, making previously-protected matters of conscience mere sport for unscrupulous lawyers."

SaveCalifornia.com is a leading West Coast nonprofit, nonpartisan organization standing strong for moral virtues for the common good. We represent children and families in the areas of marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, financial freedom, and back-to-basics education.