Rantz: Washington Democrats tried to stop parents from reviewing their child’s internet use

Eagle-eyed conservatives spotted an alarming move by Washington Democrats in a bill that was supposed to protect minors online. The legislation, as written, would have stopped parents from reviewing their child’s online activities.

Senate Bill 5708 (SB 5708), sponsored by far-left State Sen. Noel Frame (D-Seattle), would have required online content providers that allows a parent to monitor a minor’s online activity or track the minor’s location to “provide an obvious signal to the minor when the minor is being monitored or tracked.” That, of course, defeats the purpose of a parent monitoring the online behavior of their child. But it was likely a proactive move by Democrats worried kids they’ve convinced are transgender from parental oversight online.

After uproar and uninvited scrutiny, the language was stripped from the bill. Should it be on parents and conservative organizations to spot these issues before Washington Democrats pass them into law? This is intentional.

More from Jason Rantz: Teachers end suspensions, boot police, but now complain about school safety

Washington Democrats are trying to replace parents

Washington Democrats believe they know how to parent a child better than the child’s actual parents. There have been countless incidents in the last several years of Washington Democrats growing their authority over parents and children.

Last year, Washington Democrats passed a bill allowing a minor to run away from their parents to seek so-called gender-affirming care without parental consent. The state is barred from telling the parents where their runaway child is.

Though voters overwhelmingly supported a parental bill of rights initiative, Washington Democrats gutted the legislation. Under the bill, schools can withhold from parents whether or not their child was a victim of a crime on campus by 72 hours. It further allows schools to provide medical resources and recommendations without parental consent or knowledge.

In defending their move, State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) earned national ire when he told Fox News that parents should mind their own business.

“Kids over 13 have the complete right to make their own decisions about their mental health care,” Pedersen explained on Feb. 5 to Fox News. “Parents don’t have a right to have notice, they don’t have a right to have consent about that.”

The interview went viral. Pedersen didn’t intend to be as blunt, and then claimed that his comments were edited out of context. But his office provided the entire transcript, revealing his comments were very much in context. He just hopes parents don’t read it and trust that he wouldn’t publish the transcript if it didn’t back his claims.

More from Jason Rantz: Democrat’s bill offers free rent and early release for murderers, child molesters

Parents have to be on notice

Unfortunately, in Washington state, parents cannot count on their rights to be protected by the state legislature. At least, not one run by Democrats.

Parents should be able to count on lawmakers to have respect for the way they choose to raise their own kids. They will care more about them than any lawmaker ever could even pretend to. But in Washington, Democrats have a default position, particularly when it comes to gender identity and abortion access: parents are abusive and kids must be protected from them.

But where Washington Democrats believe parents are abusive, the reality is that parents are simply looking out for what’s best for their own kids. Using them as social justice experiments is never best for a child. Parents know that and must be extra vigilant when lawmakers get involved.

More from Jason Rantz: Democrats rejected a ban on child porn in libraries. Why?

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz