In August 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1266, titled the School Success and Opportunity Act by the bill’s author, then Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D) of San Francisco. This rosy title was never really used, as the legislation, amongst the most divisive in recent years, became known simply at the ”Transgender Bathroom Bill.”

According to the legislative counsel summary of AB 1266, “This bill would require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

Or to be more prescise: this law now means that if a student who believes that they are one sex, even though their physical characteristics might suggest they are of the other sex, may use the restrooms and showers of their desired sex, and play on the athletic teams of their desired sex.

When the bill was coursing through the legislative process, it was very controversial, to say the least. The ink was hardly dry on the Governor’s signature when, less than 72 hours later, a written request was submitted to the Attorney General by a group called Privacy For All Students to begin the processes of taking a referendum on the bill to the voters.

Under California law, if enough California voters, equivalent to 5% of those that voted in the last gubernatorial election, sign petitions within a certain window of time, then a newly passed law is suspended, and that legislation is placed before the voters at the next general election. Based on the 2012 election results, the number of valid voter signatures required for the referendum of AB 1266 was 504,760. Ultimately, the signature-gathering efforts of referendum supporters resulted in 487,484 voter signatures being validated – close to the number needed, but falling short.

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Source: Jon Fleischman, http://www.breitbart.com