NOM Peddles Distortion About California FAIR Education Act

In a September 30 blog post, National Organization for Marriage (NOM) joined a number of other anti-gay groups in collecting petition signatures for the Stop SB 48 campaign to repeal California’s SB 48, also known as the FAIR Education Act. According to NOM president Brian Brown, the law forces school children to learn about “homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism” in the classroom: 

There are just a few days left to stop SB48 -- the bill signed into law by Governor Brown earlier this year that would force schools to teach students (even kindergartners!) about homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism as part of a social science curriculum.

Brown’s description of the law is inaccurate, meant to gin up fears that kindergartners will be exposed to inappropriate material in school. In reality, all that SB 48 does is require teachers to include the role and contributions of LGBT people (along with other minorities) when teaching American and California history. From the text of the law:

Instruction in social sciences shall include the early history of California and a study of the role and contributions of both men and women, Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups, to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States of America, with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society. [emphasis added]

The Stop 48 campaign, which Brown directs his supporters to several times throughout his post, is already under scrutiny for peddling distortions about the law. The Courage Campaign recently filed a formal complaint with the California attorney general after it was discovered that members of the Stop SB 48 campaign were misleading voters about the law in order to collect signatures.

Moreover, it’s worth noting that NOM’s post doesn’t even attempt to link opposing SB 48 to defending “traditional marriage.” NOM’s opposition to the law is solely based on the fact that it would supposedly force schools to teach students “about homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism.” For Brown, it’s homosexuality – not same-sex marriage – that children need to be protected from.

Over the past few weeks NOM has repeatedly presented a distorted view of homosexuality and LGBT people in general. If Brown really believes his organization's claims and rhetoric it's not surprising he wants to keep kids from being exposed to the contributions of the LGBT community to our history. 

Previously:

NOM’s Month Of Anti-LGBT Misinformation: September 2011

NOM’s New Chairman: Marriage Equality Is “Evil”

NOM Promotes Article Blaming Gays For “Full-Blown Paganization” Of America