Posted on 08/22/2006 1:23:34 PM PDT by ChessMan
Legislation Would Dictate Gay and Lesbian Teaching Materials
Written for the web by Marcey Brightwell, Reporter
Conservative groups are blasting a bill that would dictate the way public school teaching materials reflect gay and lesbians. The State Assembly passed Senate Bill 1437 Monday, prohibiting classroom instruction materials that reflect "adversely" on a person's homosexuality.
"We're just the latest community to come along and say, 'Look, we're now the targets, we need protection,'" said the bill's author, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles.
Kuehl said the bill is needed to help protect gay and lesbian students from discrimination and prevent hostile learning environments. But Republican lawmakers oppose the bill, calling it an attempt to push a "gay agenda" on young students.
"Once again, (they're) trying to use the schools as a tool to push an agenda contrary to many parents beliefs onto the children, said Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta. "This is just one star in that constellation of bad bills."
The measure approved Monday is a watered-down version of Kuehl's earlier proposal. Kuehl originally wanted to require California school textbooks to reflect the positive contributions of gays and lesbians in state history. The Los Angeles Democrat said she reluctantly removed that provision earlier this month to avoid a certain veto by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
"I was disappointed. I don't think there's any harm to people in school to knowing that a few people that they already admire were gay or lesbian," Kuehl said. "But I think this still moves the ball forward a little bit."
Republicans say requiring information about a historical figure's sexual orientation in school textbooks is unnecessary and irrelevant.
"Quite frankly I don't care who Abe Lincoln slept with and what his sexual orientation was," Haynes said. "And I don't care who George Washington slept with and what his sexual orientation was. And our history books should not care either."
The legislation now goes back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. Then it will go to the governor's desk. Christian conservative groups are lobbying Schwarzenegger to veto the bill. The governor has not officially indicated what he'll do with the measure, but has said he's reluctant to have the state "micromanage" local school instructional materials.
There are a couple more provisions wending their way through the California Assembly and Senate, including AB 1056 which sets up a "tolerance" pilot program. The interesting part of the bill is that "tolerance" is redefined to mean much more than the traditional meaning. The bill specifically states that merely ignoring or letting homosexual behavior occur without protests isn't enough. "Tolerance" under the new definition requires advocacy and most definitely prohibits criticism of the lifestyle. Feel-good legislation that would make George Orwell proud.
There should be required films, showing sodomy methods and dying AIDS patients.
This must be what the last days of the Roman Empire were like.
...in the corporate world where employees are forced to undergo diversity training...
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Political correctness is a warped extension of radical liberalism. It is really out of control and destroying this country, individual freedoms and rights to association.
Who says the Constitution is not under attack, at EVERY LEVEL, and every article and amendment...???
I can't see why not, I am sure they show the effects of smoking.
It is sad in our society when we don't try to show consequences of actions, only upsides to them.
I completely agree, and not only that, but your post has got me to thinking: there's a kind of violence involved here not unlike the act of rape. It certainly has nothing to do with passion!
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