Pastor tells Californians to “pack up and get out” if guardianship bill is passed

( elizabeth johnston)

A California pastor is warning congregants to get out of the state over a controversial new bill that creates an easy pathway for non-parents to assume guardianship of minors in the state.

Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills warned in no uncertain terms that Assembly Bill 495 “100% strips parents of their parental rights” and asked that his fellow Christians “stand for righteousness and do the right thing.”

“If this bill passes, I am going to ask you to leave the state of California,” he told churchgoers last week. “You’re gonna need to pack up and get out; you gotta get out. You gotta run with your kids. You gotta go.”

AB 495, or the “Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025,” is touted by proponents as a means to support the children of illegal aliens in the event of detention or deportation.

A “fact sheet” published when the bill was first introduced by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez explains that this is done by keeping emergency contact information up-to-date and expanding the court’s capacity to designate guardianship accordingly, with schools facilitating the transference of legal authority accordingly.

The virtue signaling bill is clearly just the latest in the Golden State’s famous identity politics that perpetuate a criminal system of illegal immigration that harms Americans and non-Americans alike and also somehow another leftist attack on parental rights, all rolled into one, as opponents warn.

The bill “creates legal loopholes that make kidnapping children easy,” the California Family Council warns, making Hibbs’ warning sound slightly less dramatic.

Ab 495 “attempts to create streamlined guardianship by allowing a ‘nonrelative extended family member,’ defined broadly as anyone with a ‘mentoring relationship,’ to assume control over a child through a one-page affidavit. No court review. No notarization. No parental consent required,” the organization warns on its website.

“There is no background check, no welfare check, no court oversight, and no verification. All you need is a piece of paper and some form of identification, with no obligation for the adult handing the child over to verify the identification, and presto, someone walks away with your child,” says attorney Erin Friday of parental advocacy group Our Duty-USA.

“We’re talking about a legal pathway for predators to operate in plain sight,” Friday said. “This bill is not about immigration. It’s about relinquishing parental rights to unvetted strangers under the guise of compassion.”

Hibbs, for his part, described the legislation as “the most dangerous bill we’ve ever seen” on Instagram, calling on parents to share his message “before it’s too late.”

“We want to make a statement because AB 495, 100% strips parents of their parental rights,” said the pastor. “[W]e will let it continue — or we will make some noise. I am going to ask you to stand for righteousness and do the right thing.”

Commenters on Hibbs’ post criticized him for his “false” and “misleading” statements that the bill could enable strangers to seize custody of one’s children, and it is certainly true that the bill would not empower a perfect stranger to gain custody of your children.

That said, the elephant in the room from proponents is that it appears to use the vehicle of public schools to ensure that teachers or administrators facilitate the legal transference of guardianship to people who may just be teachers or “mentors” to the children.

This clearly empowers predators and groomers who may have already inserted themselves into a child’s life; all the more so if they’re aware of legislation that would empower them to gain guardianship of the child in the case of an immigration-related emergency.

We already know how many schools, particularly in California, will covertly facilitate a child’s “gender transition” without regard for parental rights and authority. We already know that the state of California has passed legislation that would remove custody from parents who do not “affirm” a child’s professed “gender identity.”

California is not a state where parental rights supersede state-sponsored indoctrination and eugenics – we can hardly imagine the state cares about the parental rights of illegal immigrants, much less the safety and security of their children.

This is indeed an incredibly dangerous bill.