California state Sen. Scott Wilk, a Republican, this week said that "if you love your children, you need to flee California" due to a bill to amend the state's Family Code.
The bill, which was introduced by Democrat Assemblywoman Lori Wilson and co-authored by Democrat Sen. Scott Wiener, would amend a section of the state Family Code relating to family law and gender identity during custody battles.
According to Assembly Bill 957: "Existing law governs the determination of child custody and visitation in contested proceedings and requires the court, for purposes of deciding custody, to determine the best interests of the child based on certain factors, including, among other things, the nature and amount of contact with both parents and the health, safety, and welfare of the child."
AB 957 "would include a parent's affirmation of the child's gender identity as part of the health, safety, and welfare of the child."
Wilks said during a legislative session this week: "I'm now in year 11 in the state Legislature, and all the time we're proposing policies to protect children. After 11 years, I've come to the conclusion that we need to start protecting parents."
He added: "That's just not happening. I've been here and witnessed a full frontal assault on charter schools, taking away parents' choice in how their children are going to be educated to the detriment, particularly of children of color.
"In recent years, we have put government bureaucrats between parents, children, and doctors when it comes to medical care — and now we have [AB 957] where if a parent does not support the ideology of the government, they're going to be taken away from the home."
Wilks concluded: "In the past when we've had these discussions and I've seen parental rights atrophied — I've encouraged people to keep fighting — I've changed my mind on that. If you love your children, you need to flee California."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.