Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) backed a bill Friday that would print the number for a suicide hotline and LGBT crisis center on the back of all public middle and high school student ID cards.
The move is in direct opposition to President Donald Trump‘s administration plan to cut funding for a nonprofit network that provides LGBT-specific youth counseling at the suicide hotline. The California governor criticized the plan, claiming the government is “walk[ing] away from its responsibility” to provide such resources.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death among LGBT youth. Cutting off kids’ access to help is indefensible,” Newsom told Politico. “While the Trump administration walks away from its responsibility, California will continue to expand access to life-saving resources, because the life of every child — straight, gay, trans — is worth fighting for.”
California has largely led the charge against the Trump administration’s policies. It was the first to sue Trump over tariffs and is also challenging the Department of Government Efficiency‘s cuts to AmeriCorps.
The California bill was introduced by Assembly member Mark González, a Democrat from Los Angeles, and would put the number for the Trevor Project on student ID cards.
The Trevor Project is one of the nonprofit groups that would lose funding under Trump’s budget. Social conservatives have criticized the organization, with the California Family Council claiming it “undermines families” and creates a “playground for predators.”
The nonprofit organization is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBT youth. They provide around-the-clock support, including a toll-free hotline, online chats, and text message support that connects people in crisis with trained counselors.
PROMINENT JEFFREY EPSTEIN VICTIM VIRGINIA GIUFFRE DIES BY SUICIDE
During the bill’s first hearing in April, Republican assembly member Josh Hoover pushed back on why it was necessary to add a LGBT-specific hotline number when there is already a general hotline number on student IDs.
“My concern has nothing to do with the ability to call a hotline, obviously, that is something that I support,” Hoover told Politico. “But if you go right now to the Trevor Project website, there are a number of resources provided that are very political in nature. There is access to a number of things that I would argue a lot of parents would be uncomfortable with.”
