It will soon be illegal for California department stores not to have a 'gender-neutral' section for kids

A new law is set to go into effect that requires large department store retailers in California to have gender-neutral toy and child-care sections — or face a fine.

A bill passed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2021 will go into effect on January 1, 2024. The law requires any department store in California that employs over 500 people across the state to follow the gender-neutral rules.

Assembly Bill 1084 said that any location in California with enough employees that "sells childcare items or toys" must maintain a "gender neutral section or area."

The section must include items and toys for children "regardless of whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys."

According to the document, a "childcare item" is defined as any product "designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of children, or to help children with sucking or teething."

The law takes an ideological stance while attacking the idea of gender-focused toys, citing that the implication that only one gender uses a particular toy is "inappropriate." As well, the state said that it is unfair to the consumer to put similar toys for boys and girls in different sections.

"Keeping similar items that are traditionally marketed either for girls or for boys separated makes it more difficult for the consumer to compare the products and incorrectly implies that their use by one gender is inappropriate."

"Unjustified differences in similar products that are traditionally marketed either for girls or for boys can be more easily identified by the consumer if similar items are displayed closer to one another in one, undivided area of the retail sales floor," the legislation continued.

This admission via legislation that there are indeed only two genders may surprise some, given that the state has recently been exposed for using taxpayer funds to prop up the "Gender Spectrum." However, Governor Newsom also vetoed a bill that would have instructed judges to consider a parent's support of a child's gender identity during custody battles.

For the new department store law, a failure to comply would result in a $250 fine for a first violation and $500 for subsequent violations.

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