New York Democrats pass bill to replace ‘mother’ with ‘gestating parent’
New York Democrats have introduced a new bill to replace the term “mother” with “gestating parent” in state child custody and parental laws.
The bill will also replace the term “Father” to “non-gestating parent” or “parent” in family court along with in domestic and education law, under the legislation, passed this week by state Democrats.
“Paternity” proceedings to determine a child’s biological father would meanwhile become “parentage” cases, under the bill, which was rammed through the Assembly in March and of the Senate this week.
A “putative father” — also known as a deadbeat dad — would now be called “an alleged parent” in official state records, under the bill, which was sponsored by liberals Sen. Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx) and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Westchester) and will go to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for approval.
“It’s woke culture run amok. It’s one-upmanship,” said state Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar, a former longtime state Senate and Assembly staffer.
“It’s an example of how out of tune the New York legislature is. It’s an unnecessary and wasteful use of time,” Kassar said
He said the gender-neutral bill is likely to lead to a stampede of others, and called state lawmakers’ priorities backwards — considering they were almost two months late in passing a state budget.
“Imagine people who are considering moving to New York seeing this and saying, ‘Do I need this silliness?’ This is a really weird group of elected officials. It comes out of left field,” he said.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman pounced.
“Democrats led by Kathy Hochul have continued their declaration of war on New York families by canceling the loving terms of Mom and Dad and replacing them with ‘gestating and non-gestating parent,’” Blakeman said in a statement. “The insanity ends when I’m Governor.”
Republicans who voted against the Democratic sponsored bill called it outrageous.
“At a time when New Yorkers are struggling with high taxes, rising costs, and public safety concerns, Albany Democrats are focused on redefining motherhood,” Tenney said.
“This is yet another example of out-of-touch politicians prioritizing progressive ideology over the issues that actually matter to hardworking New Yorkers.”
State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo (R-Staten Island) said it was another example of Democrats conjuring up problems.
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