Controversial Measure Is Questioned by City Council Member During Meeting
The mayor of Huntington Beach, Gracey Van Der Mark, has proposed an ordinance designating the city a “Parents’ Right to Know” city in an effort to challenge the recent SAFETY law, AB 1955, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law last month. Huntington Beach is a notoriously conservative city in Orange County.
The law’s passage meant that California is the first state in the nation to prohibit school districts from requiring staff to notify parents about their child’s change in gender identity or sexual identification against the child’s wishes.
Supporters of the legislation argue it will safeguard LGBTQ+ students who may face hostility at home, and the law was a reaction to school districts mandating parental notification. Many studies say that children who face criticism and punishment from their parents who deny them their gender identity or expression are at risk for depression and suicide.
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark criticized the state law, stating it “effectively pits children against parents and places educators as barriers between them, undermining a parent’s ability to communicate with their children on critical, long-term, life-altering issues.”
The mayor’s statement said that the ordinance is vital for “positioning the City to fight the State alongside parents.” and mentions the statement of Twitter and Space X’s conservative CEO, “AB 1955 is so egregious that Elon Musk has announced the relocation of SpaceX from California to Texas. Musk stated that Governor Newsom’s signing AB 1955 into law was “the final straw,” and he is leaving California “because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies.”
While the Mayor speaks of overreach on the part of the Governor and state legislators, the statement seems to be an attempt to influence state policy through city government and concern for business that would seem to be unrelated to the issues of personal privacy.
The vote on the creation of an ordinance passed on August 6 by a vote of 4 vs 3. During the discussion, one of the council members and mayor pro-tem called Governor Gavin Newsom a “tyrant.” Councilmember Dan Kalmick said that the city doesn’t actually administrate any schools, so it does not harm the corporate body of the city council. He said that it seems to be a resolution, but it is an ordinance because the people who proposed it want to discuss it in more meetings for political reasons and potentially join a lawsuit, but he doesn’t see how that is possible.
