‘Democrats Agree’: Activists Are Teaming Up To Fight Sex Change Surgeries For Minors In This Blue State

• Activists in California from both political parties are banding together to put measures on the state ballot that would ban child sex change surgeries and ensure fairness in women’s spaces, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
• Protect Kids California filed three statewide ballot initiatives Monday, and the group leaders believe they have bipartisan support on the issues. 
• “The media and the California legislators make it seem that it’s a Democrat versus Republican issue, but it’s not. I would say the majority of Democrats agree with us on this,” Sophia Lorey, a female rights activist who spoke at the announcement of the initiatives, told the DCNF.

California activists from both political parties are teaming up to put measures on the state ballot that would ban child sex change surgeries and ensure fairness in women’s spaces, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Protect Kids California, a group formed by Jonathan Zachreson, a Republican, and Erin Friday, a Democrat, filed three statewide ballot initiatives on Monday to ban child sex changes and puberty blockers, keep men out of women’s sports and require school officials to inform parents if a child wants to transition his or her gender. The pair has support from both sides of the political aisle in their effort to push the initiatives through, they told the DCNF.

“The media and the California legislators make it seem that it’s a Democrat versus Republican issue, but it’s not. I would say the majority of Democrats agree with us on this,” Sophia Lorey, a female rights activist who spoke at the announcement of the initiatives, told the DCNF.

The Protect Children From Reproductive Harm Act would ban child sex change surgeries and puberty blockers in the state, according to the ballot initiative. The School Transparency And Partnership Act would require that school officials inform parents if a student decides they want to be referred to as a gender different than his or her biological sex, and the Protect Girls’ Sports And Spaces Act would establish sex-segregated bathrooms and locker rooms while banning males from competing in female sports.

The initiatives would require 550,000 signatures to make it on the ballot, which would then be voted on to determine if the initiatives would be enacted as law in California, according to the state’s ballot initiative guide.

Friday’s motivation for helping file the initiatives stems from her own personal experiences with gender ideology, as her daughter was socially transitioned at school without her knowledge, she told the DCNF.

“All of these groups, including what I would say are far-left groups, the same sex attracted groups, Gays Against Groomers, the lesbian groups, the feminist groups, we are all holding hands on this issue,” Friday told the DCNF. “The Democrats should be reading the tea leaves.”

A May Gallup poll revealed that Americans’ support for transgender athletes competing as the gender they identify with has fallen in the past two years. Approximately 34% of participants said they’d support a transgender athlete playing on a team that matches their gender identity in 2021 compared to 26% in 2023.

Support among Democrats for transgender athletes playing on teams that match their gender identity decreased from 55% to 47%, according to the poll.

Lorey told the DCNF that “there is not really any tension that arises” when she is working with Democrat activists in the state to counter gender ideology policies, such as allowing men in women’s sports or child sex changes.

“It’s okay that we don’t agree on things,” Lorey said. “We need to find ways to work together on the things we agree with.”

“I have friends who have been hardcore lifelong Democrats, and they are fighting right alongside me on this,” Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD), told the DCNF.

The CVUSD recently passed a parental notification policy in July that would require teachers to inform parents if their child asked to identify as a different gender at school. Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the district in August, arguing the rule is unconstitutional.

Parents in the district are begging the school board “not to back down,” Shaw said.

“The real question comes down to are you okay with removing healthy body parts of a child, and if your answer is no, then you’re a part of this coalition,” Friday told the DCNF.

Bonta did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Republished with permission from The Daily Caller News Foundation.