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Bill would require California schools to teach contributions of homosexuals

July 6, 2011

California’s students may soon be instructed on the contributions of homosexuals if Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill that lawmakers delivered to him on Tuesday. [Associated Press]

The bill, SB48, adds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as well as people with disabilities to the list of groups that schools must include in the lessons. It also would prohibit material that reflects adversely on gays.

Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco the bill is crucial because of the bullying that happens to gay students. Republicans called it a well-intentioned but ill-conceived bill and raised concerns that it would indoctrinate children to accept homosexuality.

Assembly Speaker John Perez, that body’s first openly gay speaker, said: “This bill will require California schools to present a more accurate and nuanced view of American history in our social science curriculum by recognizing the accomplishments of groups that are not often recognized.”

Gov. Brown has not said whether he would sign it. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill in 2006.

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican from Twin Peaks, said he was offended as a Christian that the bill was being used to promote a “homosexual agenda” in public schools.

“I think it’s one thing to say that we should be tolerant,” Donnelly said. “It is something else altogether to say that my children are going to be taught that this lifestyle is good.”

The legislation leaves it up to local school boards to decide how to implement the required material. It does not specify the grade level in which instruction would begin.

The bill’s author, Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said he hopes Brown will sign his bill. He dismissed arguments that the bill promotes certain sexual behaviors and said it removes censorship in textbooks.

“Bottom line, it’s only beneficial to share with students the broad diversity of the human experience and that our democracy protects everyone,” he said.


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I really don’t think gays need to be singled out anymore. They are no more special than the rest of us. If the teachers, and the parents teach their children to have mutual respect for each other it will cut down on the hatred and predudice between classmates. My kids were taught to love everyone no matter what color or difference they encountered. We use to go to the hospital to visit people that had no visitors very often. The kids learned about respect for life. How important people were in their differences.

They learned about life period. All about people with special needs, to love them unconditionally, to honor them and feel humbled by them and their efforts in life. We also went to convalesent hospitals also. One day my son told me that if I didn’t straightened out he would put me in one for the remainder of my life. I told him no I think I will stay home and drive his mother crazy.


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@Just Consider…this:

I don’t know where you get this “arsenal of anger and hatred” thing, just because Christians believe that GOD said Homosexuality is a MORTAL Sin and shouldn’t be practiced or taught etc.


Is praying for un-saved souls, including yours hateful?

Would you consider GOD to be hateful? After all GOD completely destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and said it was homosexuality was Reprobate Sin.

Concerning animals:

Animals don’t have Souls.

Animals are irrational creatures of instinct without the faculty to reason.

The Bible states:

4Be ye not unequally yoked together with un-believers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? (Demons) or what part hath he that believeth (in Christ Jesus) with an infidel? (Un-believers). 16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; 17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.


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Show me where God said it.


Someone writing as a book writer in the bible might have said it, but show me that, too.


And, others will show you just the opposite.


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Rawhide, you’re quoting the old testament.


Jesus replaced all that. Go read him.


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Ok, it’s a beautiful day. Shift is done. Going fishing.


Jesus was a fisher of men. Pretty sure he’d have a sit down with most of you. Then, you’d stone him.


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I was referring to YOUR personal arsenal of anger and hatred. In terms of GOD, I don’t believe there is a big man in the sky exercising human logic, forming opinions and judging people by what they do.

Christians today often make the crucial mistake of creating God in their own image. God does not think like a man, and no man has the capacity to think like God.


Stop saying that your arguments are backed by the bible because you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Stop spending so much time judging people for how they choose to love.

Do you think they should take the holocaust out of the text books because it promotes genocide?


Also, don’t take that pseudo-righteous tone talking about your praying for “unsaved souls” including mine. You don’t know me, you don’t know my spiritual path or my relationship with the Almighty. If what you believe is true, you will one day stand before St Peter at the pearly gates and he will ask you why you tried so ardently to get others to harbor the same disapproval you have for your fellow man. Did what Jesus taught about compassion and understanding mean nothing?


“Ye are the temple of the living God”

That goes for homosexuals too by the way.


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Yeah well your God said to stone kids to death if they talk back to their parents. You keep you God and your hatred and we’ll give gays the rights they morally deserve.


“Would you consider GOD to be hateful?” Well he definitely has some anger management issues but I wouldn’t say they couldn’t be worked out with a bit of therapy.


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You sound exceptionally self righteous don’t you think? Maybe we should stone all those that disagree with you. I’m saying this in the nicest way possible. Okay I am being judgemental right now.


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“Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican from Twin Peaks, said he was offended as a Christian that the bill was being used to promote a “homosexual agenda” in public schools.”


Any Christian worthy of the title will recognize their religion’s stance on this issue.

No Stance.

The Bible is a beautifully poetic work of spiritual wisdom which is not to be interpreted literally as one might read a newspaper. More than this, it was transcribed eons ago where figures of speech, parables and metaphors of the time can’t be understood due to many cultural differences. If that isn’t enough, it took myriad of translations to get it from ancient Hebrew to the laymens terms a typical american finds in the king james version.

If you believe your religion is teaching you shun certain types of people, perhaps you should read the rest of the book rather than picking parts, interpreting them incorrectly and adding them to your arsenal of anger and hatred.

raw hide, i’m talking to you.

homosexual people exist. they will continue to exist no matter how bad you hate them; or rather “disapprove” to use the accepted euphemism. In schools, their existence should ABSOLUTELY be acknowledged without a tinge of either favor or condemnation. They need to be accepted as a part of our american society and as peoples of the world.

This disapproval looks strikingly like what black people experienced in the past and are experiencing (however more subtly) even today.

Religious values belong to the believer and are intended to benefit that person and those that person encounters and should not be twisted to alienate others who do not fit their ideas.


Judge not.


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What really gets me is the fact that most of you, who purport to be educated, do not understand the bible at all.

For example, there are two sections, The Old Testament, and the New Testament.


Both were written in languages no modern human would recognize, using STORIES AND METAPHORS because most people at the time were illiterate. Therefore, STORIES had to be told using language and meanings up to more than 4,000 years ago.


Remember when “bad” meant you were bad or did something bad? Now, “bad” means you’re “cool”. This, in a span of less than a generation. If you had just landed on Earth, I think you’d find this confusing.


Back to the Bible – The New Testament is all about Jesus. Remember him?


Jesus said, “I have GOOD NEWS!” He said this in response to those who quoted the Old Testament ad nauseum and applied it WRONGLY. Remember, Jesus taught the Old Testament in the Temple when he was but 12 years old.


The good news? “Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.” He had to say this because the 10 Commandments were not simple enough for the people then, just as they are not now.


I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Actually, that’s not what I said – God”


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By the location of your posting (as a response to mine) it seems that your comments are directed toward what I said. If so, I never made mention of my degree of education and you basically said exactly what I did with different terms. Weird.


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There seems to be a few key points that people are making about this legislation I would like to address: 1- that homosexuality is unnatural; 2- that it is immoral based on religious bias; 3- that “they” are trying to force/brainwash/change etc. I would like to share my opinion, generally.


The very term unnatural means:

1. Contrary to the ordinary course of nature; abnormal.

2. Not existing in nature; artificial.

Thus I conclude that those who claim that homosexuality is “unnatural” are stating that homosexuality is something that does not occur in nature or the natural world. Setting aside the fact that homosexuality has existed in human society since recorded history, homosexuality exists in nature as well! There are a number of animals that have been recorded to not only display homosexual tendencies but also take same sex, mate for life partners. One of the most famous being Roy and Silo in the Central Park Zoo: http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-02-07/news/17414549_1_bruce-bagemihl-homosexual-gay-penguins . The list of homosexual animals in nature is very long and includes as wide variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, etc. I don’t believe that human beings have developed the capabilities to influence the “lifestyle” choices of animals; therefore the argument that homosexuality is unnatural is seems unfounded to me.


From what I understand, the fundamental foundations of Christianity (and all religions for that matter) promote love, tolerance and acceptance. The interpretations of Biblical text are hardly enough evidence proving that homosexuality is “evil” or “unnatural”. After all, the very Bible that many of us/them read, King James, was named after what historians are researching to be an openly homosexual English King- and yes I do believe that this information is worth noting in our public schools. With that, I don’t believe that it is either intelligent or wise to use or reference religion as a basis or bias to support ones views on this piece of legislation. I’m not trying to promote any anti-religion, its just that there are so many religions and people practicing it tents to work against rather than for. There is supposed to be a separation of church and state and I believe that includes public schools and legislation. Everyone has their right to religion but if anything, the mention of religion in a civilized debate simply excites your opponent and destabilizes the strength of your argument.


note: e.g. Young, Michael B. (2000) King James and the History of Homosexuality. New York: New York University Press.


Lastly, what gays are trying to do? This is the real issue of the argument from what I can see. To me, the notion that gays are trying to force or brainwash anyone to change their moral values seems pretty wild a claim. Considering that legislature needs voter support to be able to pass, and needs so much support to be considered initially, I think it’s fair to say that many people support gay assimilation, not just gays. If your argument is to say that gays have brainwashed and manipulated the masses then I’d say in jest, I’m surprised the military doesn’t want more gays! I don’t think that gays are trying to take over our schools but I do believe that they have a right, as people and as Americans to be recognized as such. Personally I don’t believe that anyone should be recognized for or by their sexuality, race or gender because these are (as many people argue in regards to sexuality) traits that we are born into (please reference my mention of what is natural v. unnatural). Though there is much struggle that comes with being a woman, being of color or being gay, we should not grant these people rights based on these factors. They are entitled to inalienable rights as human beings and every other regard is earned.

Are gays trying to promote change? Absolutely! I don’t believe that gays are trying to force anyone to say that being gay is ok but rather attempting to promote gay tolerance (defines as: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own). Many people can say they tolerate gays but as soon as they start to say its evil or unnatural your throwing that tolerance right out the window. If you were truly tolerating them, you would not be trying to condom or change them. The best way to promote tolerance is education. The more we know, the better we can make our own decisions based on knowledge (and of course experience). I don’t believe its right to force any public school to create curriculum based on any form of segregation but unfortunately that’s the best our society, culture and government can do at this time. Consider, for example, history classes the mention the influence of blacks or woman’s roles in things such as the American Revolution or Independence… I imagine in various time periods, homosexuals had a great influence on history and its worth mentioning. There was a time when chauvinist and bigotry argued the mention of race and gender in the education system but look how far we’ve come! There are still problems but we’re moving forward.


It’s clear that we all have strong opinions on the issue so stop to consider, is your role one that assists in moving forward or holding back? If you’re having trouble figuring out exactly what your role is, take a look at your words and replace gay or homosexual with woman, Jew or black and consider how it sounds.


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“unnatural” are stating that homosexuality is something that does not occur in nature or the natural world.


Cannibalism, murder, rape, heroic acts like lifting up a car to save a life, these too happen in nature, but that doesn’t make them natural, because it’s not the norm. Having an IQ od 165 isn’t normal either, but it’s out there. Face it, good or bad, it’s not the norm and therefore not narural.


Your first definition was a good fit


Can’t buy your agruement


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Paso Guy, let’s be clear here.


Everything in nature is natural.


Some things in nature are more common than other things in nature, but that does not make then unnatural, it just makes them less common.


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I have been around a long long time and seen an awful lot of things. People loving one another, being straight, gay, bi, is something that just doesn’t bother me anymore, once I started thinking things though.


I am surprised at all the readers out there, who don’t think.


There’s a lot of fear out there, all designed to control us. Thinking people cannot be controlled. I know you haters think you think, but you’re just controlled. What do you care about someone who is gay? I mean, really.


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Good Post PA.


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If anything how to have a successful, loving marriage ought to be taught. Not good that marriages are considered plastic and can be thrown away when things get tough. Marriage is like the seasons, winter, spring, summer, and fall. Sometimes good and sometimes bad. You don’t give up because of unpleasantness. Couples splitting up is the scourge of our times. Marriage is just not sacred anymore. It’s a shame. People can’t learn from their parents anymore. Their parents are breaking up. The kids are the ones suffering. I know who gives a damn about the kids? I have asked people that are breaking up what about the kids? They usually say we didn’t even consider the kids. We were so pissed off at each other we just wanted to split up. Pretty sad.


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