by Rex Wockner
U.S. NEWS
California officials gave the go-ahead July 25 for anti-gay groups to begin collecting signatures for a voter referendum next June on the new law that requires public schools to teach about LGBT people's history.
Attorney General Kamala Harris titled the proposal, "Referendum to Overturn Non-Discrimination Requirements for School Instruction."
And she summarized it this way: "If signed by the required number of registered voters and filed with the Secretary of State, this petition will place on the statewide ballot a challenge to a state law previously approved by the Legislature and Governor. The law must then be approved by a majority of voters at the next statewide election to go into effect. The law would require school instructional materials to recognize societal contributions of various groups; and would prohibit school instructional materials that reflect adversely on persons based on their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and other characteristics."
Opposition forces now face the task of collecting 504,760 valid signatures from registered California voters and turning them in to county officials by Oct. 12.
Equality California, which sponsored the teaching bill in the Legislature, appears to have taken the lead in whatever LGBT effort will be made to thwart the signature drive or save the law at the ballot box.
The group has requested $50,000 from its supporters "to launch a statewide education program," vowed to provide information in the future on how people hoping to save the law can volunteer, and urged its supporters to "report signature gatherers."
"If you spot a Stop SB 48 organizer gathering signatures in your community, let us know on Facebook," EQCA Executive Director Roland Palencia said. (The law was Senate Bill 48.)
"Our opponents will use this signature-gathering time to make wild claims about the FAIR Education Act – that it will expose children to 'gay sex' and force them to 'accept homosexuality,'" Palencia said. "These lies based on prejudice about LGBT people and kids have formed the foundation of every campaign, including marriage equality, they have ever waged against our community and every campaign they will wage – until we stop them."
Palencia didn't reveal what tactics EQCA may have up its sleeve.
