HUNTNGTON BEACH CITY COUNCIL (Tribune photo).
By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune
Continuing a series of actions that challenge state law, a divided Huntington Beach City Council voted in favor Tuesday night of an ordinance that would declare the community to be a “Parents Right to Know City” and ban educators in the city from withholding from parents information about their children’s “sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”
The vote was four to three, with Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, Vice Mayor Pat Burns and Councilmembers Tony Strickland and Casey McKeon in favor and Councilmembers Rhonda Bolton, Dan Kalmick and Natalie Moser opposed.
Such a proposed Ordinance 4326 could be in contradiction to State Assembly Bill 1955 which prohibits public schools from disclosing – without permission – a student’s “sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression” to any other person, including parents.
The city is served by three public school systems: Huntington Beach City School District, Ocean View School District (both K-8) and the Huntington Beach Union High School District. None of them are subject to the jurisdiction of the city government.
It was unclear whether the ordinance would be intended to be limited to city employees such as camp counselors or library staff or also attempt to include public school teachers.
The proposed ordinance also would allow – upon a majority vote of the council – the city attorney to sue the state to challenge the constitutionality of AB 1955.
The council’s decision followed lengthy comments from the public and discussion among council members.
Before the vote was held, the three council members who eventually voted against the ordinance noted their objections. Bolton criticized what she called “the tortured legal reasoning” of the document. Kalmick called its wording vague and perhaps an effort to increase the power of the city attorney’s office. Moser spoke of the privacy rights of children and suggested that the ordinance was due to a “personal political agenda.”
Strickland, in angry tones, said “The child is not the property of the state” and stated that the only political agenda at hand was that of the state government and Governor Gavin Newsom.
The next meeting of the council is scheduled for Sept. 17.
Categories: Huntington Beach
As usual, this City Council prefers to pander to the MAGA right instead of addressing the many needs of this city. More tax dollars will be wasted by lawsuits caused by these insane public stunts while our city continues to sink lower and more divided.
Move to San Francisco. We choose to live in counties that support our political desires to not shove the ideologies we disagree with down our throats. It’s not always convenient and it is costly but we live where our preferences are supported.