Republican California Assemblyman Tom Donnelly said his 13-year-old son had a "horrified look on his face" when he told the boy about the state's new law that allows transgender students to select whichever bathroom they want to use.
Donnelly said his son's response was, "Seriously, dad? That's the stupidest idea I ever heard."
"They expressed real concern over using the bathroom, in particular, with a girl in the next stall. And, you can't blame them," Donnelly said about his sons Monday on "Fox & Friends."
California Governor Jerry Brown last week signed a law that allows transgender students in K to 12 to choose whichever restroom and locker room they wish.
Donnelly has withdrawn one of his sons out of the public schools system since the law took effect.
"When you look at this bill, it's a bad idea on so many different levels that it's hard to understand how it's going to help reduce bullying — when you have a group of kids that, admittedly in the LA Times, is maybe 1 ½ percent to 2 percent of the student population that identify as transgender," Donnelly said.
"If the problem is that you're not comfortable, how is it a solution to make the other 98 percent share that same discomfort?" he posed.
Donnelly is hoping that the bill will be repealed, but said the window for doing so is narrow.
"There are multiple efforts, or at least an effort by multiple groups, to repeal it," he said. "They only have 90 days to get 500,000 signatures."