California retailers that refuse to incorporate “gender-neutral” toy sections could face hundreds of dollars in fines from the state under a new law that takes effect Jan. 1.
Any California department store that has 500 or more employees and sells childcare items will be required to feature a “gender-neutral” section “regardless of whether [the toys] have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys,” thanks to a new law signed by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom. Lawmakers claimed the new requirements are based on the state’s civil rights statutes.
“Any department store that fails to create a gender-neutral section could face a $250 fine for the first violation,” the New York Post reported, “and a $500 fine for any subsequent violations.”
Harmeet Dhillon, a California attorney and member of the Republican National Committee (RNC), issued a clarion call to challenge the state mandates.
“If any affected toy retailer wants to challenge this law,” she wrote on X, “call me.”
The New York Post editorial board mocked the new law in a Thursday op-ed.
“California is facing a crime crisis across its major cities, a population exodus driven by high taxes and woke policies, and a host of other thorny problems,” the board wrote. “Naturally, Golden State lawmakers opted to focus on the urgent issue of not enough gender-neutral toys.”
Of course, no law prevents parents from buying their child existing toys marketed for the opposite sex.
In August, retail giant Target reported the chain’s first quarterly miss in six years after the company debuted controversial apparel celebrating transgenderism and designed by a self-professed Satanist.
In Newsom’s debate on the merits of red state vs. blue state policy with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week, DeSantis scored his strongest points on stage when he slammed California’s obsession with sexualizing children. When moderator Sean Hannity of Fox News brought up Florida’s parental rights bill — which Democrats dishonestly branded as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — DeSantis went on offense. The new law bans teachers from introducing sexual topics like LGBT ideology in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.
“The role of the school is to educate kids, not indoctrinate kids,” DeSantis said. “It’s not to impose an agenda, it’s to do the basics.”
“What we’ve said in Florida is it’s inappropriate to tell a kindergartner that their gender is a choice, it’s inappropriate to tell a second grader that they may have been born in the wrong body,” DeSantis added. “California has that. They want to have that injected into the elementary school.”
