Brown Passes Bill - Praise from LGBT and Controversy with Conservatives

Governor Jerry Brown passed the SB 48 Bill - the Fair, Accountable, Inclusive and respectful Educatin Act (Fair Act) which will mandate state schools to include curriculum that includes LGBT Americans in a positive light. The Fair Act was written by Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco who is openly gay. The Act will require schools, with classes ranging from Kindergarten to 12th grade, to include textbooks and instructional material that presents gay, lesbian, transgender people, groups and lifestyles in a positive way.

Gov. Brown said, "History should be honest." The new curriculum will teach the accomplishments and goals of gays and lesbians, much like today's curriculum for African-Americans, Native-Americans and other minorities. Brown continued, "(the bill) revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books."

Senator Leno said the education that kids will learn in school will reduce the bullying of gay students by showing that members of the LGBT community can be role models.

Aside from praise the governor and the new bill are receiving, some conservative groups are criticizing the FAIR Act. Benjamin Lopez of the Traditional Values Coalition said, "We have failed at our core educational mission, and yet we are now going to inject gay studies into the classrooms. Its absurd and offensive." Some people are claiming this bill is just another way the "gay agenda" is being pushed into society but Sen. Leno disagrees.

Leno said, "Denying LGBT people of their rightful place in history gives our young people an inaccurate and incomplete view of the world around them." He also added the FAIR Act also covers the role of the disabled in history.

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