Two
Republican-sponsored bills that would have adversely
affected California gay youth died Wednesday in the
state assembly committee on education.
Assemblyman
Dennis Mountjoy of Monrovia saw his bill to limit and
possibly prohibit discussions of LGBT issues in public
schools fail by a 3-7 margin. Assemblyman Doug
La Malfa of Richvale came close to passing his bill,
which would have required parental permission before
students could be surveyed about sexual
orientation--where the survey's
results would be used to design appropriate health
programs--but it failed on a 3-4 vote.
"All students
should have the ability to learn about a wide variety
of topics in schools and to contribute to the discussion of
issues that expand their knowledge and worldview,"
said Seth Kilbourn, political director for Equality
California, an advocacy group that opposed both
bills. "Equality California will oppose any legislation
that seeks to censor or prohibit open dialogue and learning
opportunities for our youth." (The Advocate)
