Officials in America\u2019s most populated township are taking urgent action to stop a Democrat-backed bill that would replace \u201cmother\u201d and \u201cfather\u201d in New York State law with gender-neutral parental terms.
\nThe emergency resolution from Hempstead Township comes just days after New York State Legislature passed a bill that would replace \u201cmother\u201d with the term \u201cgestating parent\u201d and \u201cfather\u201d with \u201cnon-gestating parent.\u201d It would also change \u201cpaternity\u201d to \u201cparentage.\u201d
\nDemocrats say the measure is an effort to be more \u201cinclusive\u201d of the state\u2019s residents with non-traditional \u201cgender identities.\u201d It is now awaiting action from Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.
\nHempstead Township Supervisor John Ferretti told Fox News Digital the legislation is \u201cwoke nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a father of two, it was an insult to me and to my wife,\u201d Ferretti said in an interview on Tuesday. \u201cAs soon as I learned, the first thing I did was bring my wife into our bedroom and say, \u2018Look what they did up in Albany. They\u2019re eliminating the terms mother and father from state law.’\u201d
\nHis nine-year-old daughter overheard the conversation and got upset, asking Ferretti: \u201cCan I still call you dad?\u201d
\nBILL REPLACING \u2018MOTHER\u2019 AND \u2018FATHER\u2019 WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMS PASSES IN NEW YORK, HEADS TO HOCHUL\u2019S DESK
\n\u201cIt really hit close to home,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe need to take a stand in the Town of Hempstead, the largest township in America, and make sure that we make it clear not just to residents in the Town of Hempstead, but to residents throughout New York State, that we won\u2019t stand for this kind of woke nonsense.\u201d
\nWhile the 2026 legislative session ended last week, Hochul has until the end of the year to sign the bill into law. Hochul told reporters last week that she had not yet reviewed the proposal.
\n\u201cI have until the end of the year to review them and make a decision, so I won\u2019t be commenting on pending legislation,\u201d Hochul said during a news conference, according to FOX 5 New York.
\nFerretti said he hopes Hochul ultimately rejects the bill, but said she\u2019ll wait to act until after the election \u201cbecause she\u2019s not brave enough to take a stand.\u201d
\nHe said that the emergency resolution in Hempstead is intended to ensure the town continues recognizing the terms \u201cmother\u201d and \u201cfather\u201d in its own laws and policies, regardless of whether the state measure ultimately becomes law.
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\u201cWe\u2019re taking a stand because we will not allow woke Democrat liberals in New York State and the New York State Legislature to erase the traditional family,\u201d Ferretti said. \u201cThey did not pass a law that adds language. They passed a law that erases mother and father from certain statutes under New York state law, and that\u2019s completely unacceptable.\u201d
\n\u201cIf Albany wanted to add additional language to their state laws, they could have added additional language, and we would not be discussing this right now,\u201d Ferretti continued. \u201cInstead, they chose to erase mother and father and replace it, and we won\u2019t stand for that.\u201d
\nFerretti said the resolution has garnered support from Republican lawmakers representing Nassau County, including Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra, state Sen. Steve Rhoads, Assemblywoman Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and other members of the county\u2019s Republican legislative delegation.
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\nRepublican gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman also blasted the proposal on social media.
\n\u201cIn Kathy Hochul\u2019s New York, \u2018mom\u2019 is now defined as \u2018gestating parent,’\u201d Blakeman wrote. \u201cNot when I\u2019m Governor! I\u2019ll stand up for moms and dads against this insanity.\u201d
\nThe fight marks the latest cultural flashpoint involving Hempstead, a Republican-led township of roughly 800,000 residents located on Long Island and within Nassau County. Hempstead officials previously backed measures include a push to keep biological males from competing in girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports athletic facilities operated by Hempstead Township.<\/p>\n
Conservative groups are also mobilizing against the parental-language bill.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s just absurd, but also inherently dehumanizing,\u201d Maggie McKneely with Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee told Fox News Digital.
\n\u201cIt reduces women to just their reproductive organs, but women are so much more than that. They are individuals with unique abilities and capabilities, and yes, motherhood is one of the greatest things that a woman can be. Being a mother is an incredible gift,\u201d McKneely continued.
\n\u201cWomen do so much more than that, and to reduce them to just whether or not they are capable of gestating a child is really sad and dehumanizing. To reduce men to being just non-gestating people is just really sad.\u201d
\nFox News Digital reached out to Hochul\u2019s office for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"