The delegate Virginia Democrat [EUA] Elizabeth Guzman is trying to introduce legislation that would hold parents criminally responsible for refusing to treat their children as a different sex than they were born.
The legislation, which Guzmán plans to introduce in Virginia’s next legislative session, would expand the definition of child abuse so that parents could be charged with a felony or misdemeanor for refusing to honor their child’s request to be treated as the opposite sex. .
“If the child shares with these counselors what they are going through, we are not just talking about physical abuse or mental abuse, so it is the job of these counselors to inform the Services of Child Protection (CPS),” Guzman told 7News. “That’s how everyone gets involved. There is also an ongoing investigation that is not just a social worker but also a police investigation before we make the decision that there will be a CPS indictment.”
A The move comes in response to Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s latest policy initiatives that empower parents to exercise control over whether and how children gender transition in school, as well as a speech he gave at a meeting of parents at the beginning of the school year. “They feel that parents have no right to know what their child is discussing with the teacher or counselor,” Youngkin said.
When asked by the local reporter if she is not “criminalizing parents,” as many Republicans argue, Guzmán unequivocally responded.
“No, I’m not. It’s educating parents because the law says what you must and shouldn’t,” Guzmán replied. “So this law is telling you not to abuse your children because they are LGBTQ.” Guzman was equally unwavering in his thoughts on whether such an approach violated free speech or religious freedom. “The Bible says to accept everyone as they are. So that’s what I tell them when they ask me that question, and that’s what I say.” I will continue to tell people.”
Many Democratic lawmakers and progressive activists have criticized Youngkin’s recently announced changes to education policy. Most prominently, the new policies prohibit teachers from using personal pronouns “that are not on a student’s official records.” They also reverse an earlier state policy “allowing students to use restrooms that align with their preferred gender.”
Last month, students from nearly 2022 schools staged statewide protests to criticize Governor Youngkin’s policies and defend transgender rights.
