Progressive leaders are quietly tiptoeing away from the radical reaches of the transgender movement, but don’t be fooled.

They haven’t yet reversed course on one of their most shameful positions.

The brutal political reality for Democrats is that more than 70 percent of Americans simply don’t support their extreme positions, like taxpayer-funded gender surgeries and the medicalization of gender dysphoria for minors with off-label cancer drugs (puberty blockers), cross-sex hormones and irreversible surgeries.

But the Left had to learn that the hard way in the 2024 elections, when liberal and moderate voters — many of them exasperated parents — handed Kamala Harris a devastating electoral defeat.

Now the message is unmistakable: enough is enough.

Even California Governor Gavin Newsom — once one of the loudest champions of ‘gender-affirming care’ — is beginning to course-correct.

He has pulled back from his full-throated support for the right of biological males to compete in women’s sports. And he’s softened his rhetoric around the state’s role in subsidizing gender transitions for minors.

These, however, are political concessions, not moral awakenings.

Progressive leaders are quietly tiptoeing away from the radical reaches of the transgender movement, but don’t be fooled.

Even California Governor Gavin Newsom, once one of the loudest champions of ‘gender-affirming care’, is beginning to course-correct.

Don’t mistake this for a full reckoning.

For Newsom and others like him still refuse to give way on the issue that drove so many parents, like me, to conclude that the Democratic Party had abandoned us: the issue of parental rights.

On Real Time with Bill Maher last weekend, Newsom doubled down on his support for California’s ‘Safety Act,’ which he signed into law in July.

The law prohibits schools from requiring their staff to inform parents if their child requests to socially transition at school.

A social transition is the process by which a person – in this case a minor – requests to be addressed by a name or set of pronouns that they believe more accurately aligns with their ‘gender identity.’

Social transitions in school settings may also include a child asking to use bathroom facilities that are typically associated with the opposite sex.

Why does this matter?

Because social transition may be a step toward medical transition – and life-alerting consequences.

Puberty blockers — originally developed to treat prostate and breast cancer — are used off-label to halt natural development in children, with long-term effects that are not fully understood.

The risks that we do know of are alarming: impaired brain and bone development and the inability to ever experience sexual function or orgasm.

Cross-sex hormones carry similar risks, including cardiovascular problems and sterility.

There are dangers of deep psychological pain should regret set in—something ‘detransitioners’ – those who feel remorseful over their transitions – are now speaking out about in growing numbers.

And these aren’t fringe cases. These are often young women who carry scars from a medical system that – many claim – fast-tracked them into irreversible procedures without fully exploring the root causes of their distress.

But here’s what Newsom said Maher asked him if he still backs the ‘Safety Act.’

‘I think teachers should teach. I don’t think they should be required to turn in kids.’

I’m sorry, Governor? ‘Turn in Kids’

To be clear: California’s ‘Safety Act’ isn’t about protecting children from abusive homes, as many of its supporters claim. There are already mandatory reporting laws in public schools to help children trapped in those tragic situations.

Let’s call this law what it is: progressive ideological overreach that undermines family unity, parental responsibility, and healthy child development. And it should be a dealbreaker for any parent, regardless of political affiliation.

As a mother, and as someone who believes the family is the bedrock of a stable society, I find the notion of cutting parents out of the equation not only mindboggling, but outrageous and completely unacceptable.

If a child is contemplating a gender transition, then I’d say that is the moment that a parent’s attention is most important. Secretly validating a child’s gender dysphoria isn’t giving them space — it’s potentially robbing them of the guidance that they may need to figure things out.

And here’s where Newsom’s stance becomes particularly maddening.

He knows the tide is turning. He’s seen the lawsuits. He’s heard the story of ‘detransitioners.’ And he knows the majority of the country is no longer on board.

But when it comes to rethinking ‘transgenderism’ in schools, he’s immovable.

Why?

Let’s be honest: transgenderism – especially among the most privileged is seemingly prized. It was made to be fashionable. And far too many kids, and frankly parents – enabled by politicians eager to cash in on the craze – treated the phenomenon with shocking naivety.

Those are the people that Governor Newsom was catering to when he signed the ‘Safety Act’ into law.

It seems to me that transgender identity — especially among kids — was allowed to spread through social contagion in many progressive circles. And, indeed, transgenderism among children is concerningly prevalent in Hollywood.

Now, I am not suggesting that every trans-identifying youth is faking it. But I do believe that parents should be deeply skeptical of the sudden surge in gender dysphoria among children, particularly among adolescent girls, who are more prone to social mimicry, identity struggles, and emotional distress than boys.

I am not suggesting that every trans-identifying youth is faking it. But I do believe that parents should be deeply skeptical of the sudden surge in gender dysphoria among children. (Pictured: Jillian Michaels). 

There have been similar waves of social contagion in the past involving eating disorders and self-harm. Like past waves, this one comes with severe medical consequences — and it also comes a built-in ideological defense: question it, and you’re labeled a bigot.

Confronting this appears to be a bridge too far for suddenly moderate Gavin. So, don’t allow his strategic shift to fool you.

If he, or any politician like him, wants to be seen as a credible, principled leader rather than just a slippery opportunist, he needs to do far more than recalibrate his rhetoric.

He needs to confront a dangerous ideology that has taken hold on the left that many people now feel deeply committed to and one that involves our children.

There’s still time — for Newsom, for Democrats, for anyone complicit in this betrayal — to reverse course. But it will require more than optics and spin. It demands moral courage. It demands they face the parents they misled and admit: we were wrong. 

Until then, the message to parents is loud and clear: your role is optional, your voice is disposable and your children are political pawns. And that is unforgivable.