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California Voters May Decide Transgender Law

California Voters May Decide Transgender Law
California may be headed for a new battle over legal rights for the LGBT community.

A controversial California law involving children and LGBT rights may end up going to the voters.

California recently enacted a law requiring that public schools let students use facilities and play on sports teams based on their gender identity and not their biological sex.

A coalition of groups opposing the law has submitted more than 600,000 signatures in an effort to put a referendum on the November 2014 ballot. Counties are counting signatures now.

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Brad Dacus is with the Pacific Justice Institute. He's concerned about boys taking advantage of the law to go into girls' locker rooms.

"That is something I think we will expect," Dacus said. "And this legislation, unfortunately, makes it very difficult to deny young boys that opportunity."

But the law's author, Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano said such messages are scare tactics to get voters to overturn the law. He said this effort is reminiscent of Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California.