Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) has proposed an extremely concerning bill in California known as AB 665, which proposes to allow mental health professionals to remove children from their homes without the knowledge of the parents or guardians, and place them in state housing facilities – all without due process or evidence. The legislation also seeks to remove the current age restrictions, which currently only allows children aged 12 or over to receive mental health treatment or counseling services.

Look at this section of the bill:

The mental health treatment or counseling of a minor authorized by this section shall include involvement of the minor’s parent or guardian unless the professional person who is treating or counseling the minor, after consulting with the minor, determines that the involvement would be inappropriate.

This issue has been met with criticism from pro-family group Our Duty, who describe it as “state-sanctioned kidnapping.” They argue that the bill gives mental health professionals too much power and removes important safeguards for families. Furthermore, they point out that the language claiming to protect children from suicide is used as a guise for criminalizing parents and taking away their rights to raise their kids.

Erin Friday, co-leader of Our Duty, wrote an open letter to California legislators expressing her concerns with AB 665 and what this could mean for families. She indicated that if it were enacted, a child could be sent to an LGBTQ Residential Facility simply by telling their school counselor they identify as a different gender than assigned at birth. In essence, this would effectively strip away the parent’s responsibility over medical and mental health decisions for their child – even if they are not deemed unfit guardians. A Judiciary Committee hearing is scheduled for March 28th on this controversial bill.

This should concern everyone, even if you do not live in California, because one day it could come to your state also. We have to protect our freedoms.