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The LGBTQ Center OC Condemns Assembly Candidate Young Kim’s

Dishonest and Bigoted Anti-Transgender Youth Ads

 

(Santa Ana) The LGBTQ Center OC calls on California Assembly candidate Young Kim to immediately pull from circulation, bigoted and dishonest campaign advertisements targeting transgender students.  Kim’s opponent Sharon Quirk-Silva took a courageous vote when she supported the School Success and Opportunity Act because as a former public schoolteacher of 27 years, she knew it was the right thing to do.  The Act reinforces already existing protections by creating processes that safely allow transgender students to participate in their education and use school facilities congruent with their gender identity.
 
Kim has used the legislation as a wedge issue, and repeatedly lied about the true intent of the bill. She has misrepresented its purpose, and stocked anti-LGBTQ feelings specifically targeting kids.  LGBTQ Center OC Executive Director Kevin O’Grady, Ed.D., said “Young Kim should be ashamed of the campaign ads.  They are bigoted and will encourage discrimination and increased violence against an already vulnerable group of children.” Kim has constantly targeted LGBTQ youth in an attempt to win votes.
 
Many transgender students are denied opportunities to fully participate in school activities and prevented from accessing school facilities because what is on their birth record does not match their gender identity. The School Success and Opportunity Act provides guidance for schools as they consider how to respond to the needs of transgender youth.  The act does not, as Kim’s campaign flier states, allow a boy to claim he is a girl and walk into a female restroom; nor does the act place a financial burden on schools; another mistruth Kim has perpetuated.
 
Sadly, Kim is attempting to create a community where groups of children are not accorded equal protection under law. She boasted that the bill “does not reflect our local values.”  It is both dangerous and tragic that a candidate for the California Assembly believes Orange County voters won’t support equal rights for all children.