A California pro-family advocate is celebrating the veto of a bill that would have allowed more than two people to legally be named a child's parent. As for the new protocol for opting students out of school vaccinations, he does not consider a new bill to be a complete defeat for parents.
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) says he vetoed SB 1476 because he was "troubled by the fact that some family law specialists believe the bill's ambiguities may have unintended consequences." He feels he needs more time to consider the impact of the measure.
Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, believes Brown made the right decision.
"This was a very easy veto," he states. "Consider the conflict between three or four or more parents in civil court, family court, probate court. Consider the crazy making and additional conflicts regarding child support payments, social security payments and even conflicts over other money matters."
The bill would have recognized same-sex "parenthood," assisted reproduction and surrogate births. SB 1476 was introduced by homosexual Sen. Mark Leno (D) of San Francisco, who claimed the measure would bring the state into the 21st century.
But while some believe the governor is less concerned with parents' personal beliefs when it comes to vaccinating their children, Thomasson says AB 2109's passage it is not a complete defeat.
Parents in the state will now be required to visit a doctor or nurse before they can opt their children out of mandated vaccines. Thanks to the legislation, now signed by Brown, parents will be required to sign a government form, obtain a health professional's signature, and submit themselves to a lecture about vaccines and diseases. The governor has assured that he will ensure the form has a separate religious exemption.
"Governor Brown has said that on the new state form, there will be a box for religious exemption, and you can just check that box. That way, you don't have to get anyone else's signature. In other words, parents will still be able to opt out their children from risky vaccinations without making a special appointment to see a doctor or nurse," the family advocate explains. "So, little change in the law, if this exemption plan is carried out."
Pro-family groups were concerned that AB 2109 would force parents to go to lengths to opt their children out of controversial vaccines (see earlier story). But Thomasson does not believe the passage of the bill is a defeat.
Brown says the bill ensures that parents know the "benefits and risks" of vaccinations and their value.