Governor signs bill: California first state to require gay history

'Many smaller states are pressured into approving California-focused instructional materials, which must now cater to the gay history mandate.'-- Legal expert Brad Dacus

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law July 14 that will make the state the first in the nation to require the teaching of gay history and -- in a move that could impact the U.S. -- force textbooks to include gay leaders and gay role models.

Brown signed the bill, S.B. 48, after it had passed the Assembly, 49-25, and the Senate, 23-14.

California represents nearly 13 percent of the textbook market, according to stats from the Association of American Publishers quoted by Reuters. The fear on the part of traditionalists is that California's textbooks will make their way into other states.

It is the role of parents, and not schools, to broach the subject of homosexuality, opponents say. They also say schools should not be celebrating something to which they are morally opposed.

"The reality is that the major textbook manufacturers do not create different textbooks for each state," Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute legal group which opposed the bill, said in a statement. "Instead, they seek to comply with mandates in the largest states, especially California and Texas. As a result, many smaller states are pressured into approving California-focused instructional materials, which must now cater to the gay history mandate."

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