The liberal Sacramento Bee, which praises Kuehl as "one of the Capitol's most skilled legislators," saw it this way. "It is never a good sign when the California Legislature tries to micromanage what is in textbooks, especially the recounting of state history. When you see the signs, look for a contemporary political agenda. In this case, the agenda is the modern-day gay rights movement."

"Kuehl and her Democratic allies are imposing too much of their gay rights agenda onto the telling of history in ways that are simply inappropriate," opined the Bee. "This legislation isn't about protecting the rights of Californians who happen to be gay. It is about telling school boards what must be in textbooks, and telling historians what to write and how to write it. Kuehl should reconsider this unnecessary mandate."

Bill O'Reilly on Fox news found another ambiguity: “And also if you are a teacher, you can't say bad things about Jeffrey Dahmer?" said "He's a cannibal, a gay cannibal, and you can't say that's wrong? I mean, if what you're saying is true, teachers would not be able to cast aspersions on even villains if they were homosexual."

This may sound like shout-show hype, but in fact Kuehl's bill prohibits "any matter" that reflects adversely on homosexuals. This does lead, as O'Reilly noted, to questions. What about Andrew Cunanan, openly homosexual since high school, as described on CNN, and a "high-class homosexual prostitute," according to his own mother, who murdered five people in 1997, including fashion designer Gianni Versace? Does Cunanan come up in classroom discussions of mindless killing sprees? And what about someone like Mary Cheney, gay, proud, Republican, and the daughter of the current vice-president? Does Kuehl really want to prevent teachers from bashing someone bearing the Cheney name and DNA, which they would normally do under the academic status quo?

Those who voted for SB 1437 may be unaware that this trend comes down straight from the sixties, part of the left's multicultural offensive and long march through the institutions. When sixties-vintage professional ethnics and radicals demanded censorship of textbook content, the establishment duly caved. As Diane Ravitch noted in The Language Police, California's Board of Education adopted "social-content" standards in the seventies and in 1982 deployed textbook guidelines instructing publishers and teachers not to cast "adverse reflection" on politically correct groups, the same language in Kuehl's bill.

SB 1437 is now negotiating the California Assembly, also controlled by Democrats. If it passes there, which is likely, it still must be signed by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He terminated a measure on gay marriage. But since then he has moved to the left and may find it hard to say Hasta la Vista to a bill mandating sexual chauvinism for gays in California textbooks.

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