California Governor Wants to Keep Lying to Kids
May 28, 2006: A few weeks ago, I wrote about a bill that passed the CA State Senate that would require schools to teach the truth about historical figures who happen to be homosexual. Well, the Terminator of Human Rights, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has let it be known that children won’t be exposed to reality while he’s in charge:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto a bill passed by the Senate and pending in the Assembly to revise California’s school curriculum to include the contributions of gays and lesbians to the state and nation, a gubernatorial spokesman said Wednesday.
“The governor believes that school curriculum should include all important historical figures, regardless of orientation,” said Schwarzenegger’s director of communications, Adam Mendelsohn. “However, he does not support the Legislature micromanaging curriculum.”
Wednesday’s announcement signaled a death blow to the efforts of state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, the openly lesbian author of the measure, to obtain recognition for the contributions of gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual people to the social and historical landscape.
Kuelh is optimistic, although I can’t imagine why.
Kuehl’s bill had passed the Senate on a 22-15 vote on May 11 and was awaiting hearings in the Assembly. She expressed disbelief that Schwarzenegger, who traditionally has withheld comment on legislation until it passes the Legislature and reaches his desk, has broken with his own precedent and made up his mind on a bill that still hadn’t been vetted by one house of the Legislature.
“He hasn’t made up his mind, I don’t care what some underling might have said,” Kuehl said.
Kuehl said she hasn’t spoken to the governor about the bill yet and that she didn’t plan on trying to initiate a conversation with him until it had set sail in the Assembly. She said she still intends to approach him on the subject.
“I expect it to go before the (Assembly) education committee, perhaps then the appropriations committee,” Kuehl said. “When it gets to the floor, I expect to talk to the governor and I expect to get it through. For them to take a position on it, I think is precipitous. There’s nothing controversial about it. The right wing has drummed up a lot of old fears. Once people understand what it really does, the response is usually OK.”
I guess Kuelh believes the governor’s stance is based on an intellectual objection, or a misunderstanding, rather than just on a cold political calculation. If she’s right, then I guess she may change his mind. If not, well, then I’m right.
You can read the whole story, from the Sacramento Bee, here.