California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill requiring the teaching of gay accomplishments in lesson plans and textbooks today, reports the Los Angeles Times. The legislation requires public schools to discuss the achievements of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans in their social studies curriculum. "It’s an important step forward for the state of California,’’ said Gil Duran, a spokesman for the governor. "It revises existing law to make sure people are not excluded from history books. History should reflect reality." The bill passed through the Democratic-controlled Legislature last week by a mostly party-line vote. "The bill has drawn criticism from some churches and conservative groups that argue such instruction would expose students to a subject that some parents find objectionable," reports the Associated Press. It was sponsored by state Sen. Mark Leno who said "Denying LGBT people their rightful place in history gives our young people an inaccurate and incomplete view of the world around them." Meanwhile, Benjamin Lopez of the Traditional Values Coalition bristled, "We have failed at our core educational mission and yet we are now going to inject gay studies into the classrooms. Its absurd and offensive."

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John Hudson