By snoadmin
Democrats are calling for a revival on the five-year-old plan to require state schools to teach students about the contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. With Gov. Jerry Brown now in office, lawmakers in favor of the bill have high hopes for its success. At the same time, those in opposition remain planted firmly against it. And to their defense, the lawmakers’ timing is hardly ideal. It is not a bad idea to promote the teachings of LGBT tolerance. However — and unfortunately for the gay community — the issue must run its course a little bit longer if it is ever to see success.
The fight for equality amongst gay and transgender people has frequently been compared to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. When blacks were forced to wait to be heard by their country and their rallies were often silenced or disregarded, justice seemed far beyond grasp. They wondered if their plight would ever be known.
In May of 1963, when Birmingham police used excessively brutal force to holt black demonstrators, the televised images seen around the world served instrumental in gaining sympathy for the civil rights movement. Their unmasked pain was their progress. It was not until more than a year later that a corresponding piece of legislation was signed, rightly prohibiting discrimination of kinds including race, religion or national origin. It had been a long time coming.
In terms of equality for gays, where on that same timeline do we stand? In 1948, Pres. Harry Truman signed an Executive Order declaring equal treatment and opportunity for all persons of the military without regards to race or color. This was a fundamental stepping stone in establishing equality for African Americans.
It was not until last year that openly gay men and lesbian women were allowed to apply for the military. Historically speaking, it would seem this movement has a while to go.
Gay marriage is still banned in a majority of the United States. A documented civil union still only guarantees a fraction of the rights between partners. According to DoSomething.org, 75 percent of students in our country have absolutely no state laws to protect them from sexual orientation-based harassment in a school setting. So before the historical influence of LGBT people is taught in school, we must first move to dispel federal intolerance. How else can we teach our kids if our own laws do not even support tolerance?
What would Black History Month have done to schools had it been introduced much earlier — say in the 1960s, during the heat of racial turmoil? A handful of parents and teachers would have been outraged and children would have been left confused, and if a teacher opposes what he or she is teaching, how effectively can it be taught? It was vital to the progress of the civil rights movement that they amend the constitution before they alter the public school system’s curriculum.
According to the Los Angeles Times, member of the California Church Impact Arland Steen argued that this was also a terrible time to pass this legislation because of the state’s current lack of spending money.
“This Legislature is actually considering adding more financial burden on schools to pay for new textbooks that will teach so-called gay history,” Steen said. We simply haven’t got the money for it.
The California budget has no room for this kind of instrumental reform. And frankly, the state is not ready for this kind of change. Activists would be better off pushing for college classes where the students are old enough to decide themselves.
The teaching of LGBT contributions to society and politics is a great idea, but it’s still in the progress. If such teaching is to take place, it should begin at a time when everyone will treat it with the respect and revere it deserves. Change is near, but unfortunately for Democrats and gay activists alike, it’ll be a little while.
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