Californias Battle for Normalcy (SB48)

Here is another example of the left in California, which is effectively in control of the body-politic. Older battles include SB777 and the like. Fox News reports on this newer challenge:

The California Legislature could soon pass a bill that would require school textbooks and teachers to incorporate information on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans into their curriculum.

The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act, or SB48, which mimics a bill previously vetoed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, made it one step closer to becoming law Tuesday after being approved by the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Mark Leno, could have a nationwide impact if passed because California is such a big buyer of textbooks that publishers often incorporate the state’s standards into books distributed to other states.

Supporters say that’s a good thing because it will help prevent gay students from being harassed or bullied by their classmates.

But critics say SB48 is just an attempt to brainwash students into becoming pro-gay political activists and ensure that government, not parents, has the final word on teaching kids about moral values.

[….]

Critics object to the bill on several accounts, saying it undermines parental authority, promotes gender confusion and experimentation, inappropriately classifies LGBT as a cultural ethnic group, and aims to brainwash children into adopting the LGBT community’s political agenda.

“This is teaching children from kindergarten on up that the homosexual, bisexual, transsexual lifestyle is something to admire and consider for themselves,” Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, a group advocating against the bill, told FoxNews.com.

Thomasson said teachers should teach about homosexuals’ historical accomplishments but should not be forced to mention their sexual orientation.

“Teach them about the good behavior, the noble things that people have done, but you don’t have to go into what they do sexually… True history focuses on the accomplishments of people; it doesn’t talk about what they did in the bedroom.”

[….]

Leno said the SB48 “will get to the floor of the Senate by late May; we hope that it will make its way to the assembly for similar review and to the governor’s desk by late summer.”

The Pacific Justice Institute adds some clarifying thoughts to the goal of the bill:

A bill recently introduced in the California senate seeks to mandate that all public schools in California teach history and social studies with a deliberate slant toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons (LGBT).

The bill, SB 48, was introduced in the new legislative session by longtime LGBT activist Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who has also authored a number of bills in past sessions designed to attack traditional marriage. Among other things, SB 48 states, “Instruction in social sciences shall include the early history of California and a study of the role and contributions of … lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups, 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.”

Most California schools teach California history in the fourth grade. Current law points students to the contributions of “both men and women, black Americans, American Indians, Mexicans, and Pacific Island people.” SB 48 adds LGBT and changes the names of most of the other ethnic groups to sound more politically correct, although it eliminates “Mexicans” entirely, without adding back in any other Latino designation.

Pacific Justice Institute will be officially opposing SB 48. PJI president Brad Dacus commented, “Increasingly, we are seeing bills like SB 48 disguised as anti-bullying measures, when in reality they do not even mention bullying. Instead, SB 48 mandates that history be sexualized for elementary-age children, to please a special interest group. At a time when our students are falling behind their peers from other countries, more political correctness is not the answer.”

And SaveCalifornia.com mentions these two quotes:

  • “California government schools are no longer morally safe for impressionable children,” Thomasson said. “Because of the raft of sexual indoctrination laws already in force, promoting homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality under the guise of ‘discrimination’ and ‘harassment,’ the social engineers are already having their way with more than six million boys and girls, with or without SB 48. That’s why we strongly urge parents to rescue their children by permanently removing them from government schools and placing them in the safe havens of church schools or homeschooling.” (Source: RescueYourChild.com)
  • “This week Governor Jerry Brown turns 73 years old,” Thomasson concluded. “When he was a boy, public schools were good and didn’t push sexual indoctrination. Now public schools aren’t so good, yet homosexual activists are pushing their non-academic agenda without regard to parents or logic or the best interests of children. We call on Governor Brown to prepare to veto this bad bill that greatly disturbs parents, confuses kids, and would flush public schools farther down the toilet.”

(Emphasis Added)