'Twin Bills of Destruction' Threaten Family Values in California Schools
by Jim Brown
March 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A California pro-family activists is warning against two education bills in the state legislature that advance a radical pro-homosexual agenda. One of the bills would make school textbooks gender-neutral, while the other threatens schools financially if they choose not to promote homosexuality.
Assembly Bill 606 would allow the state schools chief to defund schools that do not support the homosexual agenda in textbooks, presentations, and instructional materials. The measure also calls for school districts to "establish and publicize an anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy" that prohibits discrimination and harassment based on specified characteristics, "including, but not limited to, actual or perceived gender identify and sexual orientation." Introduced by State Assemblymember Lloyd Levine, AB 606 has already passed the California Assembly.
Senate Bill 1437, sponsored by lesbian activist Senator Sheila Kuehl, declares that public school curriculum could not "reflect adversely" on homosexuality, trans-sexuality, or bisexuality. This measure would amend three sections of existing state education code to prohibit instruction, textbooks, or material that reflect "adversely upon persons because of their race or ethnicity, gender, disability, nationality, sexual orientation, or religion." The bill has yet to receive a hearing.
The Sacramento-based Campaign for Children and Families says AB 606 "forces every California school to be a transsexual, bisexual and homosexual school, or else suffer crippling financial consequences." As for SB 1437, CCF describes it as "a sexual-agenda bomb dressed up as a child-caring Easter egg." CCF executive director Randy Thomasson adds his own description, calling the pieces of legislation "twin bills of destruction of family values" in the state's school system.
Randy Thomasson | |
"So many respectful things are required in the California curriculum," says Thomasson, "but not until now have we seen legislation that would actually force school districts to promote a brand new definition of gender -- meaning trans-sexuality -- and being forced to promote sexual orientation in all of its forms, including bisexuality." Thomasson says up until now, liberal public school districts had been permitted to promote controversial sexual lifestyles -- not required to promote them. His group maintains that Levine's and Kuehl's bills "would make every California school a trans-bi-homosexual school .. or else!"
According to the CCF leader, Senator Kuehl -- sponsor of SB 1437 -- has a long history of homosexual activism. "Her bill ... could mean that anything that says 'a mom and a dad' in the same phrase, or 'a husband and the wife' in the same phrase, would have to be judged as reflecting adversely upon homosexuality, bisexuality, and trans-sexuality," he explains. "It would mean that [phraseology describing] 'a man and man,' 'a husband and a husband,' 'a wife and a wife' would also have to be in the school textbooks."
In effect, says CCF, SB 1437 would teach schoolchildren that there is no such thing as the natural family. That is why Thomasson is urging Californians to call on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto both bills should they reach his desk.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
