Today was the first of the last 25 days before the adjournment of this 2 year legislative session. The big issue today was the amendment of Senate Bill 1437, which, before amends, would require public school curriculum to feature historical events involving homosexuals.
This bill alone has inspired as many phone calls, faxes, e-mails and letters from upset parents and grandparents as anything I’ve seen here.
With the Governor promising to veto it, we were offered, and passed, amendments on the Assembly floor today to strip out the curriculum aspect of the bill. Still in it is language that stops any reference that may "reflect adversely" on sexual orientation in instruction or school activities. Of course, this still could mean most anything, including sports teams that are gender specific, etc. if taken to the extreme.
So, taking the amendment makes an extremely bad bill into still a bad bill…either way, it is likely to get out of this house and reach the Governor’s desk, albeit without Republican support. We’ll see.
Hold on to your hat…and your wallet, these next 24 days.
August 8th, 2006 at 12:00 am
I think it all comes down to the word “sponsor.” If this bill would only prohibit a school from actively promoting an activity that puts homosexuality in a negative light, this bill is still bad, but not that bad.
If on the other hand, sponsor includes things student groups do on their own, this is still almost as bas as it was before. Students could be prohibited from holding events like the Day of Truth.
Can someone give me a legal explanation of what sponsor means in this context?