[Active-seattle-l] [Active-l] (ACTION ITEM) (CALIFORNIA) Focus on the Family opposes bill barring anti-gay texts, lesson plans in CA public schools

Thu Apr 6 23:25:31 PDT 2006

||| SENDER'S EMAIL ADDRESS MUST BE DELETED BEFORE FORWARDING, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED OTHERWISE. Given that, all messages are forwardable unless otherwise stated. BUT THE SENDER'S EMAIL ADDRESS MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE SENDING. |||

---- actual message starts here ----
	Focus on the Family has sent out an ACTION ITEM against a California 
legislature bill requiring that public school textbooks and teaching 
plans not include anti-GBLT lessons. FotF's pull quote from the bill is 
that public school teachings not "adversely affect persons because of 
their gender -- either real or perceived -- or sexual orientation"; 
they oppose the bill because they want public school teachers to be 
able to bring in anti-gay messages as part of their teaching plans, and 
condemn the bill by noting that "California teachers would be barred 
from offering opposing view[s]." Note all the quotes from Concerned 
Women for America wonk Robert Knight. FotF wants to keep the bill from 
reaching the governor's desk. Based on this information, I recommend 
that California residents verity that SB1437 is in fact not broken in 
some way, and then contacting California legislators to support it.
					- Dara

-----
Bill Would Force Schools to Support Homosexuality
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
April 5, 2006

SUMMARY: California teachers would be barred from offering
opposing view.

Gender-neutral bathrooms in public schools? Girls running
for prom king? Those are just a few of the possibilities
which could result if the California Legislature passes SB
1437 which would force schools to adopt an exclusively
pro-homosexual message.

Ron Prentice, who heads the California Family Council, a
pro-family group based in Riverside, said California
lawmakers are being pressured to adopt the bill, which
would transform public schools into politically correct
bastions.

"What this specifically does is reflect negatively upon
historic faith perspectives in public education," he said.

Prentice said SB 1437 would prevent textbooks,
instructional materials or teaching content that would
"adversely affect persons because of their gender --
either real or perceived -- or sexual orientation."

Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute,
said the main threat this bill poses is that it deals with
gender "in such a way as to deny that there are really
naturally born boys and girls."

"What it does is adopt a definition of 'gender' that says
it can't be 'stereotypically associated with a person's
assigned sex at birth,' " he said. "That means that if you
think you're a girl, even if you're a boy, you're to be
encouraged in that fantasy."

If adopted and implemented in California classrooms, he
said the legislation would wreak havoc on children's
understanding of themselves and others.

"It opens the door for the entire homosexual/trangendered
agenda -- which is to confuse people into believing that
you can be anything you want to be, that sex itself is
arbitrary and that marriage shouldn't be limited to a man
and a woman," Knight added.
And the legislation would ban any opinions to the
contrary.

"When the bill forces teachers to talk only positively
about homosexuality, what it's saying is you have to lie
about it," he said. "You can't bring in the negative
health data, all the emotional consequences, and the
effects on families. They're basically setting educators
up to mislead kids directly on this topic. I don't know of
any other topics in schools that are treated like this.
You have to teach something a certain way, even though it
violates millions of people's deeply held beliefs."

Prentice added: "This is all the incremental activity of
the homosexual agenda, and it certainly appears that the
next step in the public-school education code in
California would be hate-speech codes for anything that
might adversely affect gender, whether real or perceived."

Knight said the bill is touted as being part of education
reform -- but it's really about "corrupting education and
making it a fully owned subsidiary of the homosexual
activist movement."

The bill is being pushed through the Legislature by Sen.
Sheila Keuhl, a self-identified lesbian who has been
promoting the entire gay educational agenda.

In her earlier life, Keuhl, who worked under the name
Sheila James, was an actress best known for portraying the
character Zelda Gilroy on the popular '60s TV sitcom,
"Dobie Gillis." Her appealing personality coupled with her
law-professor's knowledge of the law, has gone far to
advance the gay agenda in California, Knight said.

" 'Zelda' is definitely doing some incredibly negative
things in this state," Prentice said.

Pro-family activists hope this bill never gets near Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, but there is real possibility it
might. It has already passed the Senate Judiciary
Committee.

"The governor is one of our last stops," Prentice said.
"We're certainly hoping that, if this gets to his desk, it
would be vetoed. We would encourage people to call the
governor's office to make that statement."

Prentice said he also encourages conservative Christians
in the state to speak out about this bill with co-workers,
church members and friends.

TAKE ACTION: If you are a California resident, please
contact Gov. Schwarzenegger and ask him to veto SB 1437,
should it be passed by the Legislature.

In addition, please contact your state senators and
Assembly member and ask them to oppose the bill.

For help in contacting your state lawmakers, please see
the CitizenLink Action Center.

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/state/main/?state=CA&view=myofficials

_______________________________________________
||| REMOVE THE SENDER'S EMAIL ADDRESS BEFORE FORWARDING!!!
||| DO NOT POST THE SENDER'S EMAIL ADDRESS TO ANY PUBLIC FORUM!!!
Given those two things, all action items of all types are forwardable unless stated otherwise.
||| REMOVE THE SENDER'S EMAIL ADDRESS BEFORE FORWARDING!!!
||| DO NOT POST THE SENDER'S EMAIL ADDRESS TO ANY PUBLIC FORUM!!!
Active-l mailing list
Active-l at murkworks.net
http://murkworks.net/mailman/listinfo/active-l