Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Just The Facts On SB 777

Might as well let Michael Savage loose on this, too...



North County Times

Just the facts on SB 777


By: ROBERT TYLER - Commentary

Forget everything you learned in kindergarten about the difference between boys and girls. According to Gov. Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature, schoolchildren can now choose their own sex. I'm not talking about choosing "sexual behavior or sexual preferences." Kids are going to be taught that they have the right to completely ignore their physical anatomy and choose the status of being "male" or "female."

Ignore your common sense, ignore your chromosomes and ignore your anatomy. This is what your politicians want to teach your kids in school. After all, California's kids have mastered reading, writing and arithmetic, haven't they? In October, California Senate Bill 777 was signed into law. Senate Bill 777 eliminates Education Code 212, which currently defines "sex" as "the biological condition or quality of being a male or female human being." And worse yet, SB 777 redefines the term "gender" for all schoolchildren by adding Education Code 210.7, which will read: "'Gender' means sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth." In short, this redefinition of gender states that you are what you choose to be regardless of your anatomical make-up.

SB 777 also uses this redefinition of gender to forbid educators from discriminating against any individual employee, student or other person based upon that individual's unspoken claim of being male or female, regardless of his or her actual sex.

Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to pro-family issues, filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court, San Diego, on behalf of the California Education Committee LLC, a project of California Family Council. Members of the California Education Committee include school board trustees, educators, parents and students.

The lawsuit argues that the redefinition of gender should be declared unconstitutionally vague as no school administrator or teacher would ever know whether they are unlawfully discriminating against a person based on their chosen sex. For example, how is it possible for an educator to segregate the boys from the girls if each individual has the ability to randomly self-define their sex regardless of their anatomy? Should educators really have to face the possibility of being sued for discrimination every time they segregate boys and girls or should they just be responsible for asking every child what sex they choose to be that day?

The lawsuit also argues that SB 777 is vague because Education Code section 51500 prohibits any teacher or school district from giving instruction or sponsoring any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias against persons based upon their gender or sexual orientation. Is a "discriminatory bias" being promoted when a high school chooses a homecoming king and queen or when a teacher discusses the role of a mother and father after reading a classic English novel?

Education Code section 220 prohibits discrimination based upon a person's self-defined gender in "any program or activity conducted by an educational institution." And Education Code section 200 requires "equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state."

If the school must treat a biological male as a self-defined "female" in "any program or activity" and in the "educational institutions of the state," does this require schools to allow the self-defined "female" to access female facilities? If persons can legally self-define their sex, shouldn't they be entitled to be treated that way regarding access to all public facilities?

Sound outlandish? Not really.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has already adopted policies allowing boys to use girls' restrooms and locker rooms ---- and vice versa! You can read LAUSD's Reference Guide 1557 on the district's Web site.

It even tells teachers they need to refer to students using the student's preferred pronoun. And of course, it prohibits the teachers from disclosing a student's chosen gender to the student's parents. Since LAUSD has such a strong academic record, don't you think all school districts should duplicate this program?

Our schools should not be used as incubators for social experiments and our kids should not have to be subjected to the radical agenda of Sacramento politicians. It's time for our schools to get back to the basics and fend off these ridiculousefforts to brainwash our kids.

Robert Tyler is general counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a national nonprofit religious liberty and pro-family law firm located in Murrieta.

Its Web site is www.faith-freedom.com.

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