Gay People Exist? Shocking!

The usual suspects are freaking out about the Fair Education Act, CA SB 48. They describe it as

Failure to notify parents of sexually charged discussion, which will be used to indoctrinate impressionable young children about high-risk behaviors[*], by praising adults in a high risk lifestyle (without mentioning the dangers thereof), is a blatant usurpation of the rights and responsibilities of parents to teach their own children about sexuality, as well as a thinly-veiled power play by homosexual activists, seeking to mainstream and promote behaviors which are not healthy, normal, admirable, or moral or conducive to a healthy self*, a strong family, or a healthy society.

Wow. That sounds like they're going to be showing gay porn to kindergardeners and insisting that high school students have at least one sexual encounter with a member of their own sex, film it and show it to the entire class.

That seems so unlikely, I checked to see what CA SB 48 actually calls for:

The FAIR Education Act would ensure that LGBT people are included in instructional

materials, which studies have shown is linked to greater student safety and lower

rates of bullying. The FAIR Education Act would require that lesbian, gay, bisexual,

and transgender (LGBT) Americans are included and recognized for their important

historical contributions to the economic, political, and social development of

California. Specifically, this legislation would add LGBT to the existing list of

underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups, which are covered by current law

related to inclusion in textbooks and other instructional materials in schools. This

inclusion will help to ensure that students get a fair and accurate picture of the

people and events that have shaped our society, and that fair and accurate

portrayals of LGBT people are no longer excluded from classroom discussions. The

FAIR Education Act will bring classroom instruction into alignment with nondiscrimination laws passed by the California Legislature and adopted by the State Board of Education a decade ago, by prohibiting the adoption of discriminatory instructional materials and textbooks.

Oh. So we'll be acknowledging reality then. That's certainly . . . the least upsetting thing I can think of. Gay people have always been and always will be a part of the human race, and therefore have shaped society and continue to do so. Acknowledging that should be about as controversial as acknowledging that the sky is blue and grass is green. And working against discrimination and bullying? That should be the sort of thing parents demand for their children.

Unless, of course, you're a homophobic asshole, in which case merely acknowledging that gay people exist is horrifying and ending the discrimination against them is an assault against the very core of their discriminating, bullying souls.

So vote yes on CA SB 48. Vote yes for acknowledging the really real world** and vote no to bullying and discrimination.

*Those are the original links from the post, not my links. I don't recommend clicking on them if you have high blood pressure, or other stress impacted health issues.

**That's right, I worked in a Crow reference.