New California legislation announced Thursday would provide legal protections for transgender kids and their parents who come to the state after facing criminal prosecution or being threatened with forcible separation in other states such as Texas, where the governor has directed state agencies to consider removing trans children from their families and placing them in foster care.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, who co-sponsored the legislation, said it would prohibit California courts from honoring court judgments separating parents from their children due to parents supporting their kids’ access to gender-affirming health care, such as hormone therapy or gender-affirmation surgery. It also would bar California from complying with out-of-state subpoenas seeking health-related information about people who come to California to receive gender-affirming care. To be blocked, such a subpoena would have to be related to attempts to file criminal charges or remove children from their homes for receiving gender-affirming care.