California Students Will Be Told about Gays and Lesbians

What has been feared by many Americans has happened. California school children will soon have to study a new subject. Along with geometry and biology, they will have to study the role of gays and lesbians in American history.

There are both supporters and opponents of the law. The Democratic Party that actively supported the innovation is rejoicing. According to Democrats, the new subject included in the general education program will teach children to tolerate those who are not like the rest of them and are gays, lesbians or transsexuals. The Republicans, who don’t approve of the law, are confident that a detailed study of lives of sexual minorities may result in simple gay propaganda.

The fact that the “gay men” and “gay women” lessons will start in California schools is not an accident. This state is considered to be one of the most liberal in America. It is here where people are not giving up on the dream of legalizing marijuana (a referendum on this issue, however, failed last fall, but marijuana supporters are not losing their hope to take the issue into the light). Also, here the idea of same-sex marriages’ legislative consolidation is actively lobbied. In fact, many believe that the law on gay lessons will be the first significant step in this direction. Everyone who lives in California knows that big cities of the state have been following this path for a long time.

In Los Angeles, for example, there is Sunset Boulevard, a street that is considered one of the most famous gay streets. The boulevard runs through the vast city, from the beaches of Malibu through Beverly Hills almost up to Hollywood; when you go down this road, you often see it flooded with men. Hand in hand they enter stores, dry cleaners and cinemas. Here, no one is ashamed of more than just sincere hugs and kisses in public. No one is surprised by a couple of men, one of whom one carries a purse in his hand, dresses in shorts and wears high-heeled shoes. The atmosphere of open (summer lasts all year round) cafes and restaurants where homosexual couples dine in peace is so normal here that a woman accidentally entering one of those cafes causes amazement: What’s she doing here? And the thing is, there are hundreds of such cafes.

What about a well-known gay parade in Santa Monica (Los Angeles County)? It is held here every year and attracts thousands of people, both participants and spectators — many of whom, by the way, come with their children. They come here every year because the parade is taking on a larger scale and is becoming brighter and more spectacular.

So, the supporters of the law who say the new school subject is needed to ensure that children are tolerant of sexual minorities are stretching the truth. America (at least, the western part of it) has been gay-tolerant for a long time now. In many New York schools, for example, children have been told for quite a while that there are not only traditional families with a mother and a father, but families consisting of mom and mom, dad and dad. By the way, immigrants from Russia, on hearing from their own children that such talks are held at schools, are terrified at first; only later do they gradually get used to the realities of a new life.

Yet, the opponents of the new law, the Republicans and representatives of the church, don’t lose hope for its abolition. It goes into effect in the 2013-2014 academic year, which means that it is still possible to slow it down. Parents whose children attend private schools are happy, too. The new subject will be mandatory to study only in public schools of the state.