(Daily Signal)—Widespread outrage is growing over a proposed bill currently moving through the California Legislature, which experts say could be easily abused by traffickers by giving almost any unrelated individual the right to assume custody-like control over a child without the parents’ knowledge or consent.
AB 495, which has been named the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025, was authored by Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez, D-San Fernando, and is being presented as a solution for illegal immigrant minors whose parents are detained to live with a “caregiver.” But legal experts and parental rights advocates say that the bill is worded so loosely that it would give unvetted, non-related individuals broad powers in directing the care of children, to the point that the legislation could be widely abused by human traffickers and kidnappers.
Erin Friday, an attorney and president of Our Duty-USA, remarked that the legislation is “a child trafficker’s and kidnapper’s dream bill.” She further detailed how AB 495 does not require the prospective “caregiver” to undergo a background check or welfare check and requires no court oversight or verification of identity.
“All you need is a piece of paper and some form of identification, with no obligation for the adult handing the child over to verify the identification, and presto, someone walks away with your child,” she noted. The “piece of paper” referenced by Friday is simply an affidavit that “allows for the transfer of parental rights without ever having to speak to the parent” by simply checking a box saying that the potential “caregiver” has “advised the parent(s)” of the authorization or is “unable to contact the parent(s).” The affidavit also explicitly states that “A parent’s signature or a seal or signature from a court is not required.”
Friday went on to point out that the bill is not narrowly tailored to only apply to children of illegal immigrants facing an emergency. As noted by the California Family Council, “The bill’s language applies to any child for any reason, regardless of immigration status, and grants temporary legal rights to individuals with no blood relation, including people who may not even be known to the child’s parents.” The language of AB 495 states that a “caregiver” can include a “nonrelative extended family member,” which is defined as someone who has an “established familial relationship with a relative of the child, or a familial or mentoring relationship with the child” who “may include, but are not limited to, teachers, medical professionals, clergy, neighbors, and family friends.” (Emphasis added.)
“We’re talking about a legal pathway for predators to operate in plain sight,” Friday insisted. “This bill is not about immigration. It’s about relinquishing parental rights to unvetted strangers under the guise of compassion.”
As detailed by The Heritage Foundation’s Laura Bryant Hanford, “a mere affidavit grants unrelated, unvetted adults authority over a child’s residency, custody, school enrollment, and medical care. The bill further guarantees that ‘a person who relies on this affidavit has no obligation to make any further inquiry or investigation.’” This “medical care” may include “mental health treatment,” which Hanford notes could include transgender hormone treatments, which California allowed for minors to receive without parental consent via SB 107, which the state passed in 2022.
Pastors like Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California are issuing urgent warnings to parents in the Golden State about the bill potentially passing. “I have to tell you, if this bill passes, I am going to ask you to leave the state of California,” he declared from the pulpit. “You got to get out. You got to run with your kids. You got to go.”
Gina Gleason, who serves as executive director of the Real Impact ministry at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, gave a stark picture of the possibility of AB 495’s passage.
“[Democrats] have a supermajority and Republicans are in the minority,” she explained during “Washington Watch” Tuesday. “So, usually the Democrats get pretty much everything that they want unless we, as the church, as conservatives, stand up and speak up, and that’s what we’re trying to do with this bill. If we make enough noise, if we get enough attention, they will back off. But it’s a big fight, [an] uphill fight, and we don’t always win, but we are determined because this bill is probably one of the worst bills that I have seen come across our state Legislature.”
Gleason went on to observe that the bill could be voted on by the end of August, which means that public opposition to it must be galvanized quickly in order for there to be a chance of it being defeated.
“[W]e need to get the attention of our state legislators,” she emphasized. “Our state senators need to know that we are standing in opposition to this dangerous bill. The only way to really get their attention is to actually show up. … Several years ago, we came up against a bill that was going to legalize infanticide. … [A]bout 3,000 people [showed up], give or take. We made enough noise [and] got enough attention that that portion of the bill was pulled. Infanticide is not legal in California because I believe we stopped it.”
Gleason urged the citizens of the Golden State to stand up against AB 495. “We will be there on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 1 p.m. at the west steps of the Capitol [in Sacramento], and we’re calling people from all over California to join us.”
Originally published by The Washington Stand
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