California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed AB 727, a new law which requires that public school student’s ID cards display contact information for The Trevor Project suicide hotline specifically for LGBTQ youths, reports California Family Council (CFC). Through the website, it's possible for kids to be exposed to The Gay Men's Club, the Witchcraft Club, polyamory sites, and more.
Newsom says this bill will ensure LGBTQ students feels safe and supported, encouraging them to be who they are. However, CFC warns that the bill will expose vulnerable children to predators and anti-biblical messages.
The Trevor Project has an online safe space titled TrevorSpace, where trouble teens can communicate with their peers from the LGBTQ community, between the ages of 13 and 24, and receive supports. However, anyone can create an account, and there is no age verification, making the site available to predators and groomers.
Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Institute, says that, despite their efforts to tell the bill's sponsor of the dangers students are exposed to, it became law anyway. He says sexual predators posing as troubled teens can contact students from grades 7-12 and college students.
"Most parents — no matter what they think — would never want to send kids to a website to find friends with adults they don't know. But that's exactly what this organization does in order to help kids who are suicidal," informs Burt.
He says that, even though the bill may have been well intended, it actually does more harm than good.
"Everybody focuses on the compassion expressed and on the intent of their heart and ignores the practical solution they've come up with, this one being disastrous. True compassion never exposes kids to harm, but that's exactly what the government's doing here," states Burt.
