SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)–California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a pair of bills Sept. 28 that were backed by homosexual activists and targeted by pro-family groups.
Both bills had cleared the Democratic controlled legislature, considered by some observers to be the most liberal body in the nation. The two bills were:
— AB 606, which would have required the California Department of Education to adopt an anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy based on “actual or perceived gender identity” and “sexual orientation” — that is, homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality. School districts that didn’t implement the policy would have lost state funding.
— AB 1056, which would have established a “tolerance education pilot program,” providing 10 schools $25,000 apiece to implement a tolerance program that addressed discrimination based on “sexual orientation” as well as “actual or perceived gender.” Schools would have been required to provide a report to the California Department of Education at the end of three years.
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, disagrees with social conservatives on many issues — for instance, he is pro-choice and supports embryonic stem cell research — but he has sided with them on several significant bills. Last year he vetoed a bill that would have legalized “gay marriage.”
“We thank God that children in California public schools will be protected from this direct assault for one more year,” Randy Thomasson, president of the California-based Campaign for Children and Families, said in a statement. “The Democrat politicians and teacher unions are relentlessly pushing to sexually indoctrinate kids. Schwarzenegger has delayed them for now, in response to election-year pressure from irate parents and grandparents.”
In early September, Schwarzenegger vetoed another bill supported by homosexual activists, SB 1437, which would have prohibited teachers, school districts, textbooks and instructional materials from presenting anything that “reflect[ed] adversely upon persons” because of their “sexual orientation.” The bill also would have prohibited instructional materials containing “sectarian or denominational doctrine or propaganda” regarding homosexuality. Presumably, the bill would have prevented teachers and schools from saying that homosexuality is anything but natural.
In statements, Schwarzenegger said he vetoed AB 606 because it “creates a new state mandate on schools at a time when our state currently owes almost half a billion dollars in unpaid mandates.” He further said that California law “already prohibits discrimination and harassment” in schools. He said he vetoed AB 1056 “because it was largely duplicative of current efforts to provide more avenues to teach about tolerance and human rights.”
Schwarzenegger disappointed conservatives in late August when he signed SB 1441, which prohibits discrimination based on “sexual orientation” at any “program or entity” that receives funds or financial assistance from the state. Conservatives say the new law could impact religious freedom at Christian colleges and daycare centers that have students receiving state grants, loans and vouchers. As it currently stands, such colleges and daycare centers can prohibit the hiring of people practicing unbiblical lifestyles.
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For information about the national debate over “gay marriage,” visit https://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage
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