Gavin Newsom tries to run away from a questioner pressing him on the young people seeking to “de-transition” from life-altering medical measures taken when they were children and thought form a moment that they were then opposite sex. He steadfastly keeps walking and refuses to answer her inquiries:

This is not a matter of concern only to Californians. Gavin Newsom, while publicly espousing support for Joe Biden, is obviously campaigning for the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nomination. His ads attacking Florida and Ron DeSantis make no sense unless he is running for national office on the sensible assumption that the scandal-ridden and dementia-afflicted POTUS will not be on the ticket, and that Biden is merely avoiding lame duck status by pretending that he will run.

But Newsom has a huge problem. He has tied himself to an extreme position on genital mutilation and puberty blockers for underage children who express – at some point in their childhood – a feeling that they are the opposite sex. “Tied” is if anything an understatement. “Arc welded” might be more appropriate, for Newsome signed into law a “sanctuary state” measure that allows out of state children to make irreversible bodily changes that affect their subsequent physical and mental development. From PBS’s San Francisco television station KQED:

California Becomes First Sanctuary State for Transgender Youth Seeking Medical Care

California is the first state in the nation to create a sanctuary for transgender youth seeking gender-affirming medical care. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law in September that ensures transgender kids from elsewhere can safely access hormones or puberty blockers here. The legislation also shields families from child abuse investigations or from being criminally prosecuted for seeking gender-affirming care.

“In California we believe in equality and acceptance. We believe that no one should be prosecuted or persecuted for getting the care they need — including gender-affirming care,” Newsom said in a signing message. “Parents know what’s best for their kids, and they should be able to make decisions around the health of their children without fear. We must take a stand for parental choice.” (snip)

… a new law authored by state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)… declares that any potential out-of-state arrest warrant for violating laws related to such care will be given “the lowest law enforcement priority.”

“We are going to provide them with refuge and we're not going to send them back and we're not going to honor subpoenas,” said Sen. Wiener. “And our law enforcement is not going to enforce the laws of Texas and Alabama [outlawing gender transition medication and surgery] criminalizing these families.”

Note that despite Newsom’s words in his signing message that “parents know what’s best for their kids” quoted above, the text of the bill authorizes California courts to override the wishes of out-of-state parents opposing irreversible changes:

… a court shall not consider as a factor weighing against the petitioner any taking of the child, or retention of the child after a visit or other temporary relinquishment of physical custody, from the person who has legal custody, if there is evidence that the taking or retention of the child was a result of domestic violence against the petitioner, as defined in Section 6211, or for the purposes of obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care….[emphases added]

In plain language: Newsom signed a law that allows California to take children away from their parents’ custody if the parents oppose gender transition medical measures.  

This would be a killer issue in a presidential campaign:

Convention of States Action, along with the Trafalgar Group, released the data, which showed that “78.7 percent of voters believe underage minors should be required to wait until they are adults to legally use puberty blockers and undergo permanent sex-change procedures.”

Notably, 84.6% of Independents and even 53.2% of Democrats say the same.

Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States, said the poll shows Americans do not support “the idea that young people have to be 16 to drive, 18 to vote, and 21 to drink, and yet can undergo life-altering medical procedures in middle school…”

Overwhelming majorities oppose irreversible changes for minors. Taking away custody of child from parents who seek to protect their children from these changes must have even higher support.

The trans lobby ruthlessly attacks anyone who tries to back away from full-throated support of their cause.  For instance,  “Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light’s backlash response was ‘worse than not hiring a trans person at all’”.

So, any attempt by Newsom to back away from his position will result in outrage from the trans lobby.

He’s stuck, which is why he ignored the questions and kept on walking.

But that won’t work in a presidential debate or on the campaign trail.

Photo credit: Twitter video screengrab (cropped)