California Gov. Jerry Brown Outlaws Tanning Beds For Minors [2]
Ok For Minors To Consent To STD Treatment [3]
I should not have to point out the humor in this, if you find humor in any of this. We all knew California was a state that pretty much marched to the beat of their own drum, but if this does not show the people that the legislature has more power than the people, I have no idea what will.
If I lived in California and Gov. Jerry Brown told me that it was proper for my 12 year old to consent to preventive STD care but not for him or her to get a tan, I would lose my mind! There are so many things wrong with this, but it seems the good people of California are at peace knowing that their legislature is making it more difficult for them to actually be parents. But if that is ok with you, California, then so be it.
The problems with this are many, but the biggest I see is the double standard that the legislature and the Governor are willing to admit to. By signing both of these pieces of legislation, the Governor has said that they not only know what is best for your minor child and they will take care of them, but if they ever run into a situation where sexual contact becomes evident, just come to the state for help, not the parents. Not only that, but this is a perfect way to get around parental consent for vaccines such as the HPV vaccine. Before this law was signed by the Governor, parents played a role in what vaccines were going into their child’s body. Now, if the child is told by a teacher or a school nurse that they need this shot, all the have to do is run to the state and say they consent. I do not know about you, but there was not too much I had the ability to consent for when I was 12 or 13 years old. I was still growing, learning, and looked to my parents for guidance on many issues that were going on in my life. To say the parents have no place, and this is what this legislation says, is to say the government knows best. I am not buying it.
Not only has the state said that minors should be allowed to consent to these shots and other preventive STD care, but the state of California has also said that your child, under the age of 18, is not permitted to use tanning machines in the state. Prior to this law being signed, children between the ages of 14-18 needed their parents permission to use the tanning beds, but that was not good enough for a state who is looking for more and more control over their people. If there ever was a microcosm of the federal system in this nation, it is definitely the state of California. On one hand your child has the right to consent when it comes to sexual issues (because it IS their body, you know!) and on the other hand they cannot decide for themselves if they need a tan or not. I would love to see someone try to explain this away as just a piece of legislation to help those who are younger, but all I see is legislation taking power away from the household and transferring it to the state. This is no different than the rights we hand over to the federal government, and in some ways it is much worse because the state should be the last line of defense against an overpowering federal government. If the people cannot even run to their state for help from an overreaching federal government because the state is just as bad, there is no where for them to go but another state that will not intrude on your right to be a parent.
The people of the state of California should not have to make the choice of either leaving or stay and deal with the changes that this state government is making. In the mind of Jerry Brown this must be normal, but in the minds of Americans this is not. The American people want to talk to their kids about the topic of sex and the parents can allow the child, if they choose, to make a decision about vaccines. If the parent is against it but the state says the child can decide, and the child is in the indoctrination camp more than they are around the parent, how can the parent get a fair shake when it comes to try and teach their child about the woes of the world? It should not be left up to the state to teach, indoctrinate, or even allow them to make decisions that in the past were the decision of the parent for a reason.
We will have to wait and see what kind of fight California parents put up with these new laws. You cannot expect people not to pick out the hypocrisy in the laws if you are sitting on the California legislature at this time. The hypocrisy is evident, and even children will be able to see that now they can consent for sexual purposes, but when it comes to tanning, they will not be allowed to. Does this make sense to any of you out there reading this? How can a legislature be so blind not to see what they are doing is only making the broken family model we have seen in America more prevalent than less? If I was a parent in the state of California I would be spitting nails right now knowing that the state has decided to tell the family how it will operate and what the minors in the house are able to do and not to do. It is time for some of the state sin this nation to get with the program and see that they should not be acting like our federal government acts. The people and the family have the decision to make when it comes to vaccines and tanning, although the two are not mutually exclusive to one another. While they may be miles apart, that does not mean what has been done in both cases shows the state wants more control over you as the individual. Do you think they want to give your child the right to consent because they will give them all of the information necessary to make an informed decision? If that were the case, I would still have a problem with taking the decision out of the home but at least it would be moving in the right direction. Under this plan, however, you know the schools and the state will not be giving all of the information needed to make an informed decision. Not only that, but it is extremely hard for a 12 or 13 year old to make a decision about a vaccine since they will not understand what it does and what it is supposed to prevent. This is why parents make this decision. A 13 year old does not want to sit there and try to read a pamphlet on the HPV vaccine, they want to play and run and be with their friends. To say that a 13 year old has the capacity to make this decision makes me wonder why it does not give that same 13 year old the right to get a tan.
This is why we need to make sure we not only keep an eye on our federal government and what they are doing, but also our state governments as well. Many states are on the side of the people and will fight for the individual liberty and the family as a whole. Other states, like California, will pursue a larger “individuality” system where individuality is encouraged but not taught. This is what kids learn in schools these days and what makes them less able to go out into the real world and be effective citizens. They are told that individualism is fine and dandy, but then they are indoctrinated in the ways of the state, showing them that the state knows best and the parents are only there to feed and cloth the child. It is not about a choice, it is much more about the state and the government entity as a whole having more power and more control of not only your life but your child’s life as well.
