Constitutional change would fix 'Mom,' 'Dad' ban
Pro-family group says that's only way to overcome radical indoctrination bill
Bob Unruh, www.WorldNetDaily.com
October 19, 2007

A California pro-family organization has concluded the only way to overturn the radical pro-homosexual indoctrination agenda imposed on public schools when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 777 – which could end up banning "Mom and Dad" references in schools – is through a state constitutional amendment.

"A detailed, well-crafted constitutional amendment would wipe out SB 777 and prevent it from ever coming back again, no matter what the politicians or judges desired," said an analysis by Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families.

He also warned it would be best if parents would simply withdraw their children from public schools. "When you can no longer protect your children, you must remove them from a threatening environment," he said. "Because the equivalent of mental molestation is coming to California public schools, CCF is recommending that California parents who love their children flee to home schools or church-operated private schools."

The legislative plan sponsored by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a Democrat who has brought forward similar proposals for several years, also could be overridden with a referendum, as has been proposed by Capitol Resource Institute, he noted, but anything won there would be a temporary victory.

"While the voters could reject and stop SB 777, a successful ballot referendum is a one-time deal. It only stops SB 777, but doesn't stop one or more school sexual indoctrination bills from coming back under a different bill number. Despite good intentions, a referendum – 'the power of the electors to approve or reject statutes' – simply does not prohibit the California Legislature from passing the same school sexual indoctrination bill next year, the year after, or whenever," he said.

"Of course, pro-family Californians would feel good if a pro-family issue passed on the ballot. But that good feeling would quickly sour if the Legislature, despite the people's vote, re-passed the same bad bill or multiple sexual indoctrination bills within one or two years. This is a very likely scenario, given the anti-family Democrat politicians who have tight control of the California Legislature," Thomasson said.

"While a ballot referendum is definitely a rebuke to the California Legislature, it seems to have worked best in the past when state legislators saw themselves as true representatives of the people. But nowadays, many politicians – especially the ruling Democrats who control both houses of the Legislature – have a very high commitment to the homosexuality-bisexuality-transsexuality agenda, as well as to their 'sacred cows' of abortion, environmentalism, and unionism," he said.

He said a statutory initiative also could work, if it was carefully written with specific detail.

Then, he said, "its language would go into the California Education Code. SB 777 would be effectively stopped. So would the Legislature, which would be prohibited from passing the same or similar bills again," he said.

But he said even that would not stop the state Supreme Court from "interpreting" the state constitution to require "equality" for homosexual, bisexual and transsexual lifestyles in public school instruction and activities.

A recall election "is a high-profile way for voters to express outrage," but wouldn't solve the problem, and while the experts still are evaluating the possibility of lawsuit, Thomasson said it doesn't appear to be the most likely option.

A constitutional amendment, however, could wipe out SB 777 and prevent it from coming back, he said.

"If written correctly, this constitutional amendment would also wipe out AB 394, the second school indoctrination bill pushing alternative sexual lifestyles on students, teachers, and parents through 'anti-harassment' training," Thomasson said. "When voters pass a well-written constitutional amendment, they achieve the greatest security for their goal.

"Essentially, the voters are establishing and 'interpreting' the state constitution ... so that the judges can't," he said.

He said it would cost about $2.5 million to gather signatures for any of the petitioning procedures.

"Therefore, if a generous soul who wanted to stop sexual indoctrination in the government school system donated $2.5 million to a campaign committee for this project, a constitutional amendment or statutory initiative would go on the 2008 ballot for the protection of six million California schoolchildren and for children not yet born. Once qualified for the ballot, additional millions would be needed to campaign to pass it, against the millions guaranteed to be spent by the liberal teachers union," he said.

In support of his call for parents to withdraw their children from public schools, he said there is no parental "opt out" provision in SB 777 about school instruction and activities, or AB 394, about "anti-harassment" policies.

"Realize that SB 777 affects all school 'instruction' (textbooks, classroom instruction, homework, videos, and other instructional materials) and every school-sponsored 'activity' (sex education classes, school assemblies, dramas, music, dances, proms, sports teams, homecoming games, etc.). To opt out of SB 777, you would have to opt out your child from the entire school day," he said.

He said the current opt-out provisions in California for parents worried about sexual indoctrination already require parents to watch their child's school "like a hawk" and request in writing their child be excused from the various classes, instruction and tests.

"Many parents don't know about a shocking ruling two years ago in California. Parents in Palmdale had objected to a sex survey given to their children in school without parental permission. In 2005, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that parents concerned about moral issues actually lose their parental rights once their child steps on school property," he said.

Already under a previous ban on discrimination in California schools, a Fresno school permitted a "confused girl" to run for prom king. And just last week in Davis, two teenage boys were made "prince and prince."

"Is this if happening under a 'no discrimination' law passed eight years ago, just think what the 'no discrimination' sledgehammer of SB 777 and AB 394 will do starting in January," Thomasson said.

He said there are a number of resources for parents who want to homeschool, including, Christian Home Educators of California, the Home School Legal Defense Association, California Homeschool Network and Home School Association of California.

Other resources are available at Alliance for Separation of School and State, Exodus Mandate, National Association of University-Model Schools, Alpha Omega Publications and Escondido Tutorials.

Capitol Resource said it has set up a website for volunteers or donations to its effort to battle SB 777.

Karen England, the chief of Capitol Resource, also said Assembly members Doug LaMalfa, R-Butte County, and Joel Anderson, R-San Diego, and agreed to serve as co-chairs.

"As a parent of four school age children, I'm completely dismayed that this destructive measure was allowed to become law," LaMalfa said.

The legislation Schwarzenegger signed earlier earned the scorn of an international organization promoting families. World Congress of Families Global Coordinator Allan Carlson said the measure is "a blatant attack on the natural family orchestrated by the alternative-lifestyles lobby."

The World Congress noted the law prohibits "instruction" or "activity" that is perceived to "promote a discriminatory bias" against "gender," including cross-dressing and sex-change operations as well as "so-called sexual orientation."

"It will prohibit anything that suggests that the natural family – a man and a woman, married, with children – is normal or typical," said Carlson. "Thus, under this latest advance toward a Brave New World of polymorphous perversion, California textbooks will no longer be able to use words like 'mother and father' and 'husband and wife,' because they suggest that heterosexuality is the norm – even though that is manifestly the case, even in California."

The organization's statement called it "unbelievable" that teachers and students who oppose same-sex marriage and suggest homosexuality isn't innate, or disapprove of cross-dressing and sex-change operations, could be disciplined as "harassers," and students may use the restrooms designated for the gender with which they identify.

While SB 777 provides protections for those promoting alternative lifestyle choices, there are no similar protections for students with traditional or conservative lifestyles and beliefs. Offenders will face the wrath of the state Department of Education, up to and including lawsuits.

"The terms 'mom and dad' or 'husband and wife' could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured," said Meredith Turney, the legislative liaison for Capitol Resource.

"Parents want the assurance that when their children go to school they will learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic – not social indoctrination regarding alternative sexual lifestyles. Now that SB 777 is law, schools will in fact become indoctrination centers for sexual experimentation," she said.

England told WND that the law is not a list of banned words, including "mom" and "dad." But she said the requirement is that the law bans discriminatory bias and the effect will be to ban such terminology.

"Having 'mom' and 'dad' promotes a discriminatory bias. You have to either get rid of 'mom' and 'dad' or include everything when talking about [parental issues]," she said. "They [promoters of sexual alternative lifestyles] do consider that discriminatory."

Ray Moore, a spokesman for Exodus Mandate, which advocates Christians give up on public schools and either school their children at home or send them to Christian schools, agreed with Thomasson, and went further.

"This really is a call to conservative and Christian pro-family groups to give up this absurd idea of public school reform," he told WND. "It can't be done. The longer they talk about saving public schools, the longer they prolong this agony, when they could be setting up new schools."

He said such plans to indoctrinate children in sexual alternatives is not a surprise at all. "The pagans are simply obeying their god," he said.

He also warned that the rest of the nation could feel the impact of the decision, because California is known as a trend-setter in educational practice and policy.

"California always has been on the cutting edge of trends, sometimes good and sometimes bad," Moore said. "What happens in California sometimes can spread nationwide.

"I do know textbook publishers blow with the wind," Thomasson added, "whether they blow from Texas or California, because those are the biggest states. That's how they sell books."

He said textbook editors now have a new agenda to satisfy if they want to sell their products in California. "We could see those [new] books within a year or two."