By Gudrun Schultz
SACRAMENTO, California, May 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A proposed state law forcing into classrooms and textbooks mandatory instruction on the contributions of gay Americans came closer to realization last week, as it passed the California Senate.
The bill states, “Instruction in social sciences shall include…an age-appropriate study of the role and contributions of … people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States of America, with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society.”
Opponents of the measure said it would introduce irrelevant material into textbooks, as well as overstep the rights of parents who do not want their children exposed to homosexual material.
Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute, said the bill is an example of how radical the State Senate has become, in a press release last week.
“The State Senate is so far out of touch with California families that it is beyond alarming,” she said. “The traditional family is under attack and this is a latest—and most outrageous—attempt to corrupt the minds of our children.”
England suggested the bill was a smokescreen to avoid addressing academic problems in the state schools, saying:
“It is shameful that the same day parents are suing because many children are not prepared to pass a basic exit exam, the State Senate is preoccupied with promoting homosexual and transgender history in our schools. It is also shameful that the California Teacher’s Association is supporting this radical agenda when they should be focused on preparing our students in the fundamentals.”
Introduced by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, the state’s first openly gay legislator, the measure passed the Senate 22-15, with no Republican votes in support.