Democratic Senator Senator Sheila Kuehl (D) (pictured) has put forward a bill that will prohibit California schools from discriminating against students based on their perceived sexuality and/or gender. The bill - SB 777 - comes about six months after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a like-minded bill, saying that California already had a bill that protected students. Kuehl and her allies, however, insist the old bill leaves too many bases uncovered and that this new effort will guarantee students a safe space. Kuelh notes:

This comprehensive legislation updates California’s education code in order to eliminate any confusion about the protections the law provides. Making sure that the nondiscrimination policies governing our publicly-funded schools and education programs are uniform provides our students the essential protections they need, and clearly sets out the state’s responsibility for ensuring fairness and safety for our youth.

As it stands, California's bill protects against sexual, racial, national and religious (among others) discrimination, but fails to mention sexuality and gender.

These additions, of course, have raised more than a few right-wing eyebrows.

Always down for a good fight, Americans For Truth- the "national organization devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda" -president Peter LaBarbera wags his finger at the "evil" measure:

More and more it is becoming clear that the homosexual agenda cannot succeed without censorship and trampling over other people’s rights. California is reaping the whirlwind of Christian apathy in the face of evil (masquerading as tolerance). If conservatives, churches and parents don’t pull their heads out of the sand soon and stop this juggernaut, California will deserve the oppressive fate that it gets.

Why is it that whenever these people talk, they make it sound like it's the end of the world? Is adding a few notes to a bill really going to alter the course of human history? It's not like Kuelh's looking to build gas chambers or anything. But, reading over Capitol Resource Institute's Karen England's statements, she might as well be:

Pushing this radical homosexual agenda in California schools will inevitably conflict with the religious and moral convictions of both students and parents. The full ramifications of this sweeping legislation could affect the entire nation as most textbook companies tailor their material to their number one purchaser: California.