California's Legislative Recap

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

The California State legislature has finished their 2017-2018 legislative session in Sacramento.  The main target by the Democrats in California has been Christianity, and common sense.

We fought against AB 569 (Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego), a bill which would have impacted the ability of faith-based groups to run their organizations in keeping with their beliefs, and fortunately it wound up vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown.

Here's a short list of what's going on, as as you read it, you get the feeling that nobody but a few Republicans has a single brain cell properly operating in Sacramento:

AB 2756 (Medina, D-Riverside) – Would have required more data collection on homeschool families. After nearly three hours of public comment, the bill failed – not even earning a motion for a vote.

AB 2926 (Eggman, D-Stockton) - Would have created a committee to consider further regulation of homeschooling. It was never presented for a vote.

Those last two alarmed me, for sure, not only because I have always supported homeschooling, but now I am deep into it with my own Government and Economics programs that I offer families.  The liberal left is desperate not to lose any children.  They want as many as they can get in the public indoctrination centers we call public schools.  My grandchildren are in public school, and I honestly would love to help get the public schools turned around and headed in the right direction (which is part of the reason I am on the ballot for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees).  Our public schools, especially with the Common Core monstrosity, are not what they should be.  While the left keeps throwing money at the schools, and refuse to address what the real problems are, they hate the fact that competition exists, and that some children slip through their Marxist fist.  Nonetheless, alternatives, like private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling are not only an important part of life in America, but in many ways having that competition partially keeps our public schools from going completely off the rails.

The Democrats, who claim there should be health care for all, revealed to us that they meant only health care that falls within their political approval.  In the case of one of the most controversial bills this year, AB 2943 (Low, D-Silicon Valley), the law which would have made it a crime (fraud) to offer the option of paid counseling to adults questioning their sexuality, and seeking to escape the enslavement of homosexuality or transgenderism. Its passage would have set a dangerous precedent, infringing on Californians’ rights to freedom of speech and religion.

On the final day of legislative opportunity the bill was pulled from consideration for vote by the author. While he has indicated that he intends to come back with another version of the bill in the future, this development is significant and reflects the impact the voices of thousands of Californians who made their concerns known as well as the efforts of pastors who engaged in conversation with the bill’s supporters, truly have.

SB 320 (Leyva, D-Chino), remains active.  This sinister bill would make the abortion pill available at all public colleges and universities in California. The governor has until September 30 to either veto or sign it.  The Democrats do not talk about the fact that in some cases these pills lead to impotence.  Nor, do they relay the horror stories of the woman's self medicated abortion leading to the realization that the subsequent discharge into her toilet contains the dead body of a baby of whom's arms, legs, fingers and toes can be made out clearly.  We can still stop this one by contacting the governor and letting him know that we stand against such barbarity. It still amazes me that there is anyone who claims to be of sound mind and body who supports the wholesale slaughter of our children during their first stage of humanity.  As I state on the back of my book, Silenced Screams: Abortion in a Virtuous Society, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist.  The second greatest trick Satan ever pulled is convincing an entire population that killing their own children is not evil."

The following bills also are pending the governor’s decision.

AB 2119 (Gloria, D-San Diego) – Would guarantee foster children struggling with their gender access to dangerous puberty blocking drugs, sex change operations, and counseling to affirm their gender confusion.  As a note, 70% - 80% of children "spontaneously lose those feelings".  I've even read in one study that the number is as high as 85%, and 99% lose those feelings by late adulthood.  They later outgrow their desire to change their sex, which means this kind of craziness of putting children through hormone treatment and surgery for something they have a likely 99% chance of putting behind them is child abuse that encourages children to act upon an immature desire that they, themselves, don't even understand.

AB 186 (Eggman, D-Stockton) – While the Democrats seek to outlaw cigarettes and cigars, this bill would allow San Francisco to establish government-sanctioned clinics where drug users can continue to inject themselves without getting help to fight their addiction.  It's almost as if the Democrats don't want solutions to our drug addiction problem, but would rather encourage, and enable, addiction.

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