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(Chicago, Illinois) Bills that are pending or
proposed in more than a dozen states across the country would restrict the
rights of LGBT students.
In California, Republicans have proposed one of
the most restrictive.
AB 2311would prohibit the promotion of
homosexuality in public education.
If passed it would silence any discussion about
homosexuality or LGBT civil rights. A companion bill would require a judge to
take into consideration moral and ethnic
values of a dependent child's birth parents before placing the child for
adoption or appointing a legal guardian.
“Supporters of these bills should spend their
time ensuring a safe learning environment for all California students and
promoting programs to find more qualified adoptive and foster parents,” said
Seth Kilbourn, Equality California’s political director.
In Idaho, state legislators are considering a
potential law that would require students to get a parent's signature to join
school clubs and organizations.
The move comes just two months after a club for
LGBT students at Lake City High School in the Coeur d'Alene School District drew
ire from parents and community members.
The bill's sponsor, Representative Bob Nonini
(R-Coeur) d'Alene says his bill would help parents get more involved in their
children's lives.
Representative Nicole Lefavour (D-Boise) says the
bill would prevent gay and lesbian students from seeking support from their
peers at school.
Similar bills aimed at blocking LGBT student
clubs have been considered in Utah, Georgia and West Virginia.
The Georgia bill would require parents to sign
off on any school club their child joins. In Utah and West Virginia the state
legislatures adjourned without passing the bills.
Gay Straight Alliances have been shown to be
successful in helping curb homophobia in schools.
A recent poll found that gay students - or
students perceived to be gay - were the second largest group of bullied students
in schools nationwide.
A similar study taken in 2004 found that 66
percent of students used homophobic language, such as "that's so gay"
to describe something that is wrong, bad or stupid and 81 percent reported
hearing homophobic language in their schools frequently or often.
©365Gay.com 2006
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