California passes bill punishing parents who don’t 'affirm' trans kids in custody battles: 'Utter madness!'

The California State Assembly passed a bill on Friday that would require judges in child custody cases to consider whether a parent has affirmed a child’s belief that they are transgender. 

AB 957 originally proposed that courts deciding custody cases must consider whether each parent was gender-affirming of the child in question. An amendment in June added to the state’s standard of what constitutes parental responsibility for child welfare, requiring that parents must be affirming of a child’s gender identity if they are to be judged fit for providing for "the health, safety, and welfare of the child" in a court of law. 

Commentators across X, formerly known as Twitter, scorched the bill for jeopardizing a parent’s custody of their child if they do not acknowledge their transgender identity.

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A California parent holding signs in favor of parent's rights. (Courtesy of Becket)

"This bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. What it actually means is that if you disagree with the other parent about sterilizing your child, you lose custody," tech entrepreneur and Tesla founder Elon Musk wrote. "Utter madness!"

Gender de-transitioner Chloe Cole, who first received gender-altering treatment at 13-years-old, and has since testified about the dangers of such procedures for minors before the House Judiciary, slammed the bill. 

"This issue is wildly unpopular yet the Cali Gov pushes forward with more and more radical policies," she wrote. "@ProtectKidsCA is trying to introduce ballot measures that will stop the sterilization of kids in California."

State Freedom Caucus Network communications director Greg Price shared a meme juxtaposing Democrats' anger at the idea of children being separated from parents when their parents are arrested at the border, with Democrats' approval for "Separating kids from their parents if they don’t ‘affirm’ their gender."

"Time for families to get out of California," Daily Signal senior reporter Mary Margaret Olohan wrote.

Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener from San Francisco co-authored AB 957. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

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Another Daily Signal employee, Tony Kinnett, wrote, "'Affirm your child's mental illness or we'll rip them from your home,' is a horrifically evil threat... ...and it's about to become the law in California."

"Leftists will take your children," commentator James Lindsay wrote.

The Libs of TikTok account, known for exposing left-wing radicalism professed by teachers on their social media accounts, scorched the bill.

"Insanity of the highest levels," she wrote. "They’re after your kids and will use all the powers possible to get them. Pure evil."

"This is legislated evil. California is determined to discover rock bottom," Public Square CEO Michael Seifert wrote in a social media post. "I’m so glad we left that state, I don’t even recognize my former home anymore."

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon suggested, if anything, the bill should be reversed. 

"Gender affirmation should be taken into account, but the other way around — parents who affirm a child’s mistaken identity should risk losing custody," he proposed.

"LIBERATE CALIFORNIA," radio host and conservative commentator Jorge Bonilla wrote.

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Democrat California state Rep. Lori Wilson, who introduced the bill along with California state Sen. Scott Wiener, stated on the assembly floor, "Parents affirm their children, they have since the dawn of time. Typically it happens when their gender identity matches their biological gender." She went on to say, "But what happens is, when it doesn't, that’s when the affirmation starts to wane," later emphasizing the bill’s focus on affirming a child’s choice of gender "whatever it is," and proclaiming, "our duty as parents is to affirm our children."

In a statement on the bill's passage, Wilson said, "The California Family Code is intended to center the best interest of the child in all decisions about visitation and custody. However, the Family Code currently fails to take into account this very vulnerable population of TGI [Transgender, Gender-Diverse and Intersex] children who are at increased risk of family rejection. LGBTQ+ youth learn to value and care about themselves when they are valued by their parents and family1 . The TGI Youth Empowerment Act will provide affirming parents the support they need from family court to continue to love and affirm their diverse TGI children."

The bill will now head to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

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FOX News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..