WATCH: California Senator Urges Citizens To Flee The State Over ‘Gender-Affirming’ Law

California State Senator Scott Wilk advised residents who “love their children” to “flee” the state, citing a new bill that would classify refusal to “affirm” a child’s gender as child abuse. Parents could potentially lose custody of their children if they refuse to support their child’s decision to “transition” to another gender.

AB 957 successfully passed California’s State Assembly on May 3, and subsequently underwent amendments by a co-sponsor in California’s State Senate on June 6. The added amendments will identify “gender affirmation” among children’s needs for “health, safety and welfare.”

If parents refuse to “affirm” their child’s “gender identity,” they could face charges and ultimately lose custody of their child.

On Tuesday, the cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 8-1, prompting a stark warning from Wilk.

“I’m now in year 11 in the state legislature, and all the time we’re proposing policies to protect children. After 11 years I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to start protecting parents,” Wilk said. “That’s just not happening.”

He cited what he described as a “full frontal assault on charter schools” to the detriment of parents. “Taking away parents’ choice of how their children are going to be educated,” he said.

“And now we have this, where if a parent does not support the ideology of the government, they’re going to be taken away from the home,” Wilk went on to say.

The veteran lawmaker then advised citizens who “love their children” to “flee” the state immediately.

“In the past when we’ve had these discussions and I’ve seen parental rights atrophied, I’ve encouraged people to keep fighting. I’ve changed my mind on that,” he continued. “If you love your children, you need to flee California. You need to flee,” Wilk stated, drawing cheers and applause.

“It just breaks my heart. I was born and raised in this state, I love this state, I’m not gonna stay in this state because it’s just too oppressive,” Wilk concluded. “And I believe in freedom. And so, I’m gonna move to America when I leave the legislature.”

Currently the policy is limited to divorce proceedings, but opponents have argued that it will inevitably expand.