Opponents start ballot effort to dump transgender law
Carla Marinucci, October 14, 2013, 9:46 am

Californians could face another divisive, expensive battle over lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights now that a coalition of conservative groups has hired the veteran GOP strategist behind Proposition 8 - and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars - to qualify a ballot measure that would repeal a new law requiring schools to make accommodations for transgender students.

The law, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed in August, says schools must allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms and play on sports teams that match their gender identification.

Frank Schubert, the Republican political consultant behind both Prop. 8 and the drive to qualify the latest ballot measure, said conservatives and evangelical voters have reacted to the law with "tremendous discomfort" because it opens up "the most sensitive areas of public schools" and threatens parental rights.

A coalition of conservative groups under the umbrella organization Privacy for All Students is circulating 200,000 petitions statewide to qualify a measure invalidating legislation that conservatives have dubbed the "transgender bathroom" law or the "forced coed locker room" law.