California Bill Endangers Children, Overrides Parents
Photos by Francis Faurot
Opponents say nightmare bill AB 495 exposes children to kidnappers, traffickers, and predators. It could become law within the next two weeks unless vetoed.
On Tuesday, Pastor Jack Hibbs, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, CA, strongly encourages Californians to urge their legislators to reject Assembly Bill (AB) 495 at the state Capitol. He has been warning Californians that this bill—which expands categories of those who can claim "caregiver" rights over a child—will strip them of their parental rights.
Led by Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, thousands gathered at the California State Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday to protest Assembly Bill 495 (AB 495), legislation that would endanger children by undermining parental authority. The rally drew thousands of parents, faith leaders, lawmakers, and activists from California and beyond who were united against one of the most dangerous bills ever introduced in the state.
“This is actually a dream come true for kidnappers, traffickers, and pedophiles,” Pastor Jack told FOX News. “It is so bad, so dangerous.”
Pastor Jack, founder of the Real Life Network, warns that AB 495 will allow non-relatives—potentially even strangers—to claim temporary custody of children without parental consent, background checks, or court oversight.
Persecuted Pastor Urges Prayer
The crowd applauded Pastor Mike McClure of Calvary Chapel San Jose, CA, whose church is still fighting a five-year battle with Santa Clara County despite victories in the U.S. Supreme Court. “The government has forbidden prayer. … They have come into our churches telling us how we can preach, how we can sing.” Gesturing to the California Capitol building, Pastor Mike said, “They don’t have the right to take away these God-given freedoms. God established marriage and the family.”
He solemnly urged the Church in America to fight through purity and prayer. “God said, ‘If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’ (2 Chronicles 7:14). God wants a holy Church. If we will turn from any wickedness and pray for the nation … I believe He will heal California and bring back the things we want most. We want to be able to worship God freely. We want our kids safe, because kids belong to their parents, not [the state]. Psalm 127 says that we have inherited our children from the Lord. They are our responsibility.”
Mike McClure, pastor of Calvary Chapel San Jose, CA, emotionally urges citizens to oppose AB 495, called the “Family Preparedness Plan Act.” In recent years, he and his fellowship have been thrust into the limelight and faced legal prosecution for refusing to close their church doors during the pandemic.
Pastor Mike added, “Listen, Church, those who claim the Name of Jesus: It’s up to you to change the state. It’s up to you to make a difference in this country. We are called to stand on a day like today, an evil day. You need to put on that spiritual armor and watch what God will do.”
Standing Against Evil
“Like a shepherd and his sheep, so a pastor must warn the flock,” said Pastor Joe Pedick of Calvary Chapel of The Harbour in Huntington Beach, CA, who attended the rally. He was glad to see nearly 6,000 people attend but noted the absence of coverage in the mainstream media. “What if Pastor Jack hadn’t spoken out? What if FOX News hadn’t picked up the story?” he speculated. “This is evil. If we don’t get engaged with this and talk about it, who will? In my opinion, a good pastor not only teaches the sheep but also warns them of the wolves, of the evil and the dangers in their midst.”
Pastor Jack (right) interviews Joe Pedick, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of the Harbour in Huntington Beach, CA, during the rally in Sacramento.
Pastor Joe also noted, “Proverbs 31:8 says, Open your mouth for the speechless. We are to stand up for the ones who can’t defend themselves—for the children.” Pastor Joe added, “Time and again we see that the enemy is coming after the children, especially the little ones who have no voice. So we must continue to speak out against these things.”
Dangerous Loopholes
Introduced by Assembly Member Celeste Rodriguez, AB 495 (titled the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025) aims to expand caregiver rights, particularly for immigrant families facing separation due to immigration enforcement. However, the bill leaves open legal loopholes for predators and nefarious actors across the state.
“The ‘Family Preparedness Plan Act’ would allow unrelated adults, broadly defined as ‘an adult caregiver’ with a ‘mentoring relationship with the child’ to assume custody-like control over a child through a one-page Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit. No court appearance. No notarization. No parental consent or notification. No background check. No verification of identity required,” the California Family Council reported. Moreover, the Council points out, backers of the bill are not being honest about the role of parents in the proposed legislation. “Most disturbingly, the updated affidavit explicitly states three times that ‘a parent’s signature or a court seal is not required.’ That language is not found in the current form but is repeated multiple times in the updated version proposed by AB 495.”
Thousands from California journeyed by car, van, bus, and plane to the Capitol to let their legislators know of their opposition to the bill. Conservatives believe the vaguely written bill will open doors to child trafficking. Further, Pastor Jack has warned parents to flee the state if this “dangerous” bill passes.
Pastor Jack Hibbs, who has been speaking out against the bill for weeks, told FOX News: "Legal experts have concluded that this very well might be the worst, most dangerous legislation that has ever come out of California. … If this bill passes, you have to grab your kid and leave the state for your child's protection."
Schools are under no obligation to conduct further inquiries or investigations, the bill states. There is no requirement in the bill for schools to get parental consent, check photo I.D., or do a background check on those who complete the affidavit, Pastor Jack argued. The affidavit requests a driver’s license number, but caregivers may provide a Social Security or Medi-Cal number instead.
Legally Overrides Parents
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) released a six-page letter outlining several ethical and legal concerns regarding the bill. They conclude: [AB 495] “would strip California parents of their right to make educational and medical decisions on their children’s behalf and expose their children to people who have no enforceable responsibility to act in the children’s best interests. Further, this violation would occur without parental notice, consent, or an opportunity to challenge the violation of their rights. The U.S. Constitution demands more.”
ADF’s Jordan Carpenter writes, “AB 495’s provisions are designed to exclude parents and keep them in the dark while their rights to shepherd and ensure their child is being properly cared for are being violated. Whatever goal the legislature is attempting to achieve with this bill, it cannot haphazardly trample parents’ fundamental rights in the process. Parents know and love their children best, and protecting parents’ rights is essential to protecting children. The State harms everyone involved when it forgets this basic concept.”
Protecting Children
Supporters frame AB 495 as a safeguard for vulnerable families, ensuring children aren’t left without care if parents are detained or deported. However, common sense opponents like Pastor Jack and other conservative leaders argue it opens the door to abuse, enabling child trafficking by allowing unauthorized adults to remove children from schools or daycares with just an affidavit—no parental notification required.
At the Tuesday rally, Sen. Shannon Groves encouraged attendees to resist the bill and pray for California: “All of you being here to stand with Pastor Jack Hibbs is a testament. We need parental consent, not self-certification. We need to protect children.”
Opponents peacefully pray for California’s children and against the passage of the bill. Its supporters maintain that AB 495 expands caregiver rights to protect immigrant families in cases of separation due to immigration enforcement.
Senator Tony Strickland said, “I am proud to be with you making a difference in California. I’m here not just as a state senator but as a dad. This bill is totally unacceptable to any parent who cares about their child. This measure has unintended consequences,” warning that it opens the door as a legal path to predators. “This is one of the worst bills I have seen, and that’s saying something.” If signed into law, similar bills could crop up in other liberal states across the nation, warned Sen. Strickland.
Pastor Jack argued that California's Education code 234.7 already protects immigrant students in schools in cases of immigration enforcement. He hoped to draw attention to the bill to warn families and hold Gov. Newsom accountable if he signs it into law.
Conservatives Speak Out
Alternative education proponent Emily Jones of Home Tribe attended the August 18 Senate Standing Committee, publicly opposing AB 495. She then attended the rally on Tuesday and subsequently appeared on an Aug. 20 podcast with Sam Sorbo—actress, activist, and wife of Kevin Sorbo. Sam Sorbo summarized, “They [the proponents] are posturing, saying that since ICE is cracking down on illegal immigrants, someone has to take care of the kids … to make all the medical decisions and school decisions. But the problem is that, if this goes through, then anybody could be making decisions for any child without having to notify their parents … which is so egregious.”
Many Christians attended the rally, their signs visualizing their focus on the need for Jesus Christ to heal individual hearts and their state.
Emily Jones also pointed out that there are not one but three separate bills that jeopardize children and families, calling the combination "a horrific thing that needs to be stopped in California.” All three bills were suspended on August 18: AB 495 as well as California AB 84 (which drastically cuts funding for alternative/charter schools), and AB 727 (part of the Trevor Project, originally requiring even private schools to share LGBTQ+ contact information for all 7-12th-grade students).
Danger to Gender-Confused Kids
In an opinion piece from the New York Post, Chloe Cole and Luke Healy spoke out against AB 495, which gives the self-named caregiver rights to make decisions for medical and mental health treatment. “As detransitioners, we know firsthand how parents’ rights can shield children from a medical industry seeking to drug and butcher them,” states the Cole/Healy article. They note that the bill “would permit any adult to claim a mentoring relationship over any child, permit the child to live with that adult, and allow the adult ‘mentor’ to claim an inability to contact the child’s actual parents.”
A trio takes their concerns over AB 495 to the Lord in prayer. “Legal experts have concluded that this very well might be the worst, most dangerous legislation that has ever come out of California,” Pastor Jack warned.
Even worse, they note, “A ‘mentor’ can then become the child’s guardian simply by signing a one-page affidavit. … Those behind AB 495 have sold it as a way for detained and deported illegal immigrants to create ‘caregiving arrangements’ for their children — but the measure’s scope is broad enough to put every child in California in massive danger.”
Cole and Healy forecast that if the bill is approved next week, “it sets up a floor vote on a law that will allow nothing short of legal kidnapping—and put gender-confused kids in unimaginable danger.”
Status of the Bill
The bill will be reviewed within two weeks and could potentially become law next week. In the televised August 18 committee meeting, Sen. Anna Caballero acknowledged that AB 495 would likely draw much public comment; however, she forbade attendees from making any public statements that did not relate to the financial cost of the bill “and refrain from lengthy political discussion and repeating prior testimony of somebody else.”
Sen. Caballero also speculated that the bill will be reviewed in the next two weeks (by September 1). She explained, “What that means is, it will be reviewed, and decisions will be made within the next two weeks about whether they're [the suspended school bills] going to move out at all.”
Thousands rallied in Sacramento on August 19, 2025, led by Pastor Jack Hibbs, to protest AB 495, a bill that threatens parental rights and child safety. The rally, marked by prayer and passionate speeches, celebrated a temporary victory as the bill was placed in suspense the day before.
Revised in March and April, AB 495 passed 62-7 in the Assembly in June and was re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee in July. Incidentally, the bill’s only opponent in the July 7 vote in the Senate Committee for Human Services was Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, a former elementary teacher and the first Republican Latina to serve in the California Senate. AB 495 was then placed on the Appropriations Committee’s suspense file Monday, Aug. 18, after a unanimous 7-0 vote. Tuesday, Pastor Jack Hibbs led the rally in Sacramento, urging California Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto the bill.
Its future now hinges on the committee’s next move and the governor’s decision.
Further Action
Pastor Jack Hibbs and other Christian leaders are asking believers to pray fervently against this bill being approved.
Pastor Joe Pedick warned on Thursday: “They have suspended it for now, but we have seen in the past that they wait for everything to cool down and then quietly pass things in a stealthy way. We need to keep praying that this dies completely. We don’t just want this thing suspended; we want it dead.”
To read the bill in detail, visit the California Legislature Information website. CalMatters also provides a page tracking the bill’s progress at AB 495: Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025. | Digital Democracy
To read the recently updated language of the Caregiver affidavit, which allows the child to receive mental health treatment, medical, and dental care without parental consent, visit Updated AB 495_ Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit.docx.pdf - Google Drive provided by the California Family Council.
To contact the California governor’s office, visit Contact the Governor | Governor of California or call (916) 445-2841.
A rally participant thanks a mounted police officer for his hard work protecting California citizens.
Thank you for reading! If this story inspired you, we invite you to partner with us in continuing the ministry God started over 26 years ago. We appreciate your prayerful consideration in joining us to reach more souls for Jesus.
SPONSOR MESSAGE: Answers in Genesis is a ministry defending Christianity, focusing on defending the book of Genesis and promoting a biblical worldview. They aim to expose the bankruptcy of evolutionary ideas and their connection to a "4.5 billion-year-old" earth.
Learn more at: AnswersBibleCurriculum.com
© 2025 Calvary Chapel Magazine (CCM). All rights reserved. Articles or photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of CCM. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.® Used by permission.
