Town preserves 'mother,' 'father' after lawmakers pass 'gestating parent' bill

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, June 11, 2026

A Long Island town supervisor is fighting to preserve the labels “mother” and “father” after the New York State Senate and Assembly approved bills that would replace the parental labels with terms such as “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent” in portions of state law.

Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti and the Town of Hempstead Board approved a resolution to protect the use of the words "mother" and "father" in town code, Ferretti announced in a social media post on Tuesday.

“Today, the Town of Hempstead Board and I voted unanimously in a bipartisan manner to pass the Resolution to Protect Mothers and Fathers, which ensures that our township will continue to legally maintain the terms ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ throughout the Town Code and in all official Town documents,” Ferretti wrote.

“We have pushed back against the Albany overreach and remain committed to protecting families in America's largest township,” he added.

Ferretti’s resolution is a response to New York Senate Bill 9316 and Assembly Bill A8382A, which lawmakers approved last week to replace terms like “mother” and “father." The legislation amends the Family Court Act, the civil practice law and rules and other portions of state law to adjust language to be more inclusive and gender-neutral form, substituting “parentage” for “paternity” and “filiation.”

Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, a Democrat, introduced S9316, while Assemblymember Amy Paulin, also a Democrat, introduced A8382. If Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signs the bill, it is expected to take effect on Nov. 1.

Ferretti said he came up with his emergency resolution after his 9-year-old daughter questioned him about the state bill to replace terms like “mother” and “father” with gender-neutral ones like “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent.”

The Republican politician said his daughter had overheard him discussing the state bill with her mother.

“She came into our bedroom, very, very upset, saying, ‘Can I still call you daddy?'” Ferretti told reporters.

“Nobody will ever change the fact that my children’s mother is their mother,” he said. “Nobody will ever change the fact that I am their father. Just words on a piece of paper won’t change someone being a mother, someone being a father.”

After Town of Hempstead officials and Ferretti filed the resolution on Monday, the supervisor emphasized that the United States' largest township has a “responsibility to lead the way in the fight to preserve traditional family values that form the foundation of our communities.”

“The town board and I are proud to advance this first-of-its-kind resolution and stand with the mothers and fathers of Hempstead as we stop this wrecking ball to American values,” the father and politician stated, as quoted by The Herald

Speaking with The Advocate last week, the Assembly bill sponsor Paulin said that state lawmakers followed recommendations from New York’s family court system by introducing the bill. Paulin said the Office of Court Administration, which oversees New York’s court system, wanted lawmakers to make the laws gender-neutral.

“The Office of Court Administration asked for this bill to modernize the law to respect all families in whatever form they take,” Paulin stated. “That's all this bill does.”

Jeanine Driscoll, a Republican candidate for the 4th Congressional District and a mother of five, condemned the proposed legislation, which she believes undermines mothers like herself.

“We are looking at rising rents and energy costs, as well as failing schools in New York City, and yet this is where the priority is,” she said, according to The Herald.  “As a mother, they’re trying to eradicate what I’ve done, what other mothers have done, and what children have done in support of their parents. It means nothing to them.”