California Gov. pledges to veto 'gay history' bill

Sacramento, Calif., May 25, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Campaign for Children and Families that lobbied against SB 1437 is pleased with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s pledge to veto the "gay history" bill if it reaches his desk, reported CNSNews.com.

The bill would require social studies textbooks used in public schools to include "the role and contributions of...people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender...with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society."

The bill also would bar textbooks and school-sponsored activities from "reflecting adversely" on transsexuality, bisexuality, or homosexuality.

"The governor believes that school curriculum should include all important historical figures, regardless of orientation," Schwarzenegger's director of communications, Adam Mendelsohn, told Thursday's Sacramento Bee. "However, he does not support the Legislature micromanaging curriculum."

Campaign for Children and Families says the governor must now pledge to veto two other bills.

AB 606 would require school districts to establish and publicize an antidiscrimination and antiharassment policy that is based on specified characteristics, including "actual or perceived gender identity and sexual orientation."

AB 1056 would give 10 schools $25,000 grants to set up a Tolerance Education Pilot Program, to promote tolerance and intergroup relations.

"This terrible trio of bills would promote cross-dressing and sex-change operations to children as young as kindergarten," said CCF President Randy Thomasson. "Schools should be about academics, not about promoting alternative sexual lifestyles to impressionable schoolchildren."