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02/24/2014
California's anti-trans team gears up for expected loss
Today is the day that we could get out best idea yet of whether or not the attempt to repeal California's law protecting transgender students will go before Golden State voters. Folks on our side are cautiously optimistic that the anti-trans coalition, operating as "Privacy For All Students," will come up short. And it seems, judging by this latest email blast, that the PFAS coalition is also preparing for loss:
Of the counties that have reported, the count is much higher than the projections made in the Secretary of State's estimating process. Still, it is possible that on Monday we will be slightly short of the 504,760 signatures needed.
But on Monday, the process is far from over.
The Secretary of State is not the last word on the qualifying of the referendum.
After Monday, PFAS will finally get to see the signatures that have been invalidated and will have our turn to challenge those that were thrown out.
Of course if we come up short on Monday, you can expect to hear that the issue has been decided and that the referendum failed. Don't believe it.
The process to validate signatures is a very subjective one. Signatures are thrown out for good reasons and for a lot of bad reasons. The courts have repeatedly sided with proponents of a referendum in favor of their Constitutional rights and against the heavy hand of bureaucracy that might strip those rights.
FULL: Calm Before the Storm [PFAS]
While it is true that signatures can be thrown out erroneously, PFAS is overstating that issue. It's not "very subjective," as if it's artwork or opera; it's an objective process that simply has potential for human error. The spot-check figures that have come in show a validity rate well below what the anti-trans coalition needs to move forward with their attempts to make schooldays more difficult for certain kids. Assuming there is no major internal mess up going on, it is illogical to assume that enough signatures will be found have been mistakenly tossed to make up for the considerable deficit.
The truth is that if those of us who see an interest in safeguarding the transgender student's school day hear good news today, it's likely that the good news will hold. It's no surprise to hear PFAS raising doubts and insinuating some sort of agenda working against them, since the anti-LGBT movement basically never takes ownership of a loss. After day, we may not have to care what this particular crew has to say.
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