California's parents are pushing back against democratic lawmakers and the Newsom administration concerning a proposed measure that forces schools to notify parents if their child changes their gender. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Supporters also say Bonta changed the required 100-word summary of the initiative in a negative, misleading and pejorative way that they claim makes it nearly impossible to gather signatures or raise money.
"His bias on these issues is clear, and he's allowed to have his opinion," says Dean McGee of the Liberty Justice Center, which brought the lawsuit against Bonta. "What he's not allowed to do is mess with the democratic process in California. Rebrand this initiative in a way that makes it likely to fail, instead of giving it a fair shot at the ballot."
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The Newsom administration is facing a fight against California parents in court over a measure that requires schools to notify parents if their child is changing genders. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto previously served as the chief deputy legal affairs lawyer for then Governor Jerry Brown.
The parent activist group cited research showing that most voters only read an initiative's title and summary. It claims changing words such as "protect," "ensure," and "fairness" to "require, restrict and prohibit" typically doom measures to fail at the ballot box.
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California parents are calling for Rob Bonta, attorney general of California, to be "conflicted out." (Loren Elliott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"He's attempting to bypass California's abilities to evaluate this issue neutrally by writing a biased summary that people will be unlikely to support," claims McGee. Leaders of Protect Kids California also say Bonta, a potential gubernatorial candidate, should be "conflicted out" because he's already suing to stop the Chino Valley School District from adopting a similar policy.
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Bonta's office issued this statement.
"Under California law, the Attorney General's Office is responsible for issuing official titles and summaries describing the chief purpose and points of every proposed initiative... and stand by our title and summary for this measure."
Judge Acquisto heard arguments Friday afternoon challenging his ruling. The parents’ group says it will likely appeal and hope to get on the 2026 ballot.
William La Jeunesse joined FOX News Channel (FNC) in March 1998 and currently serves as a Senior National Correspondent.
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