[4] Upon passing, the bill modified Division 1 of the California Civil Code, adding Part 2.57 "Gender Neutral Retail Departments", including Sections 55.7 and 55.8.

[5] The bill was opposed by various business groups which expressed opposition to additional government regulation, as well as various conservative groups; the Capitol Resource Institute characterized the proposed legislation as "[overstepping] the natural process of the free market", while the president of the conservative California Family Council said that it would "force retailers to espouse government-approved messages about gender" and was therefore "a violation of free speech".

[5] The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times published an article arguing that the state legislature should not be focusing on "rearranging the toy shelves in major retail chains".

The article stated that other tasks such as adapting to climate change, preventing wildfires in California, and resolving issues with education during the COVID-19 pandemic should instead be the priorities of the legislature.

Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, was critical of the new law on Twitter; a post on Sean Hannity's blog described it as "'woke' culture encroaching on private business".

Larry Elder, who unsuccessfully campaigned against Gavin Newsom to be governor of California, released a video promoted by the far-right Epoch Times that described the law as "freedom-compromising" and "job-killing".