A
signature-gathering drive to overturn civil rights
protections for California students has failed,
according to a joint press release from five LGBT
organizations.
A
signature-gathering drive to overturn civil rights
protections for California students has failed,
according to a joint press release from five LGBT
organizations.
The Student Civil
Rights Act, which went into effect on January 1,
prohibits in publicly funded schools and activities
discrimination that is based on religion, race,
disability, gender, or sexual orientation. Opponents,
led by the Alliance Defense Fund and Advocates for
Faith and Freedom, were able to garner just 350,000
signatures, far fewer than the necessary 433,000 to
qualify for a June referendum. According to a joint
press release from Equality California, Lambda Legal,
the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, the Transgender Law
Center, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights,
state law prohibits discrimination but SB 777 updates
the state's education code to reflect current law so
school administrators and teachers are better trained to
protect students.
The Gay-Straight
Alliance Network and Equality California filed a motion
in December to intervene, along with legal representation by
the other three organizations in addition to the law
firms of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
and David C. Codell.
Geoff Kors,
executive director of Equality California, said in the
statement that policy opponents have been on a campaign to
spread misinformation. "With no money or visible
evidence of signature gathering, we will never know if
they actually collected the 350,000 signatures they
claim," he said. "What is clear is that they failed.
Despite their vicious attack, Californians stood with us and
said 'no' to turning back the clock on civil rights
and protecting all youth from discrimination in our
schools.”
The California
legislature passed the bill in September 2007, and Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law the following
month. (The Advocate)
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