The following comes from a Feb. 25 story on presscalifornia.com by Gret Burt.

A controversial LGBT Foster Care bill (AB-175) that forces caregivers to use a foster child’s “pronoun of preference” heads to its first committee Tuesday in the Assembly Human Services Committee.

Its author, Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Compton), argues the bill is needed to ensure foster youth have an “inclusive” home environment, while religious liberty experts say the law disregards the free speech rights of foster parents and forces Christians to violate their religious beliefs.

“These new rights are going to put Christian foster parents in an impossible position,” said California Family Council president Jonathan Keller.

“Either they will violate this law by remaining faithful to their biblical beliefs about the biological/binary nature of gender, or they will violate their faith by affirming the confused gender feelings of their foster care children.

“Why would the state want to push Christian foster parents out of the system, when foster parents are already in short supply?”

AB 175 adds the following new rights to the current Foster Youth Bill of Rights:

The right to be referred to by one’s preferred name and gender pronoun;

The right to receive adequate clothing, grooming, and hygiene products, that reflex a child’s sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression;

The right to attend school clubs, parades, and other activities consistent with the child’s age, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression;

The right to have reasonable access to computer technology and the internet.

“California lawmakers seek to empower troubled teens with legal authority to choose their own names and correct the grammar of their parents,” said Kevin Snider, Chief Counsel Pacific Justice Institute.

“The bill fundamentally disregards the free speech rights of foster parents by compelling them to say something they don’t agree with.”