SB48 - UPDATE

Dear Friends,

I'm reporting back to you on an issue I brought to your attention a few weeks ago. To briefly summarize my previous report about SB48, this California Senate bill was voted on by state legislature and signed by the governor, and will require public schools to emphasize the roles and contributions in history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. The actual wording of the law can be viewed here.

Citizens of the state were given the opportunity to call for SB48 to be on the ballot so they could decide by vote if this is in fact the education we want for our children in California public schools.

On October 13th it was reported that 504,760 signatures were needed to qualify the referendum for the ballot. We came close, with 497,404 signatures received; but the effort failed. Now SB48 stands as law and will become part of the educational process for the state of California.

Personally I was awake all night and heartbroken when I heard that this measure failed by such a small margin. In my heart I don't believe that you and others who are parents in California want this for our children. When this kind of legislation is passed in Sacramento, it is done very quietly and does not reach the media; therefore, many people will be caught by surprise. The only way this information is made available is by sources such as Cornerstone or by pastors and leaders who share the information with people in their churches.