California: Where The Worst Is Happening

It is often said that the worst never actually happens. Well, the ones who say that need to visit California. After this last election, California now has a state assembly and state senate which are controlled by liberal majorities aggressively working to pass the most anti-faith, anti-family legislation ever enacted by any state in our nation's history.

Exactly how liberal are these California legislative bodies? A classic example of their liberalness is found in Assembly Bill (AB) 222. This bill would ban all private schools from being able to participate in an interscholastic athletic league, unless they adopt sexual orientation discrimination policies which would allow teachers and students to flagrantly display their sexual lifestyles without any repercussion by the school. The bill would also result in only positive instruction on homosexuality, by prohibiting any instruction from being taught in public schools that "reflects adversely" (including the medical effects) upon such sexual lifestyles.

But will the new governor sign such outlandish legislation? Well, during the campaign, Governor Gray Davis enunciated a fervent commitment to banning all "sexual orientation discrimination". Consequently, the Governor’s signature is virtually guaranteed.

Unfortunately, this bill is not the only one coming down the pike which attacks religious liberty and the family. Several other bills would create homosexual "partnerships" and award various marriage benefits to homosexuals. One bill would even elevate homosexuality to the same level as race, subjecting property owners, business owners, Bible book stores, religious radio stations and even some churches that oppose homosexuality, to state-funded investigations.

In addition, there are over one hundred bills vetoed by the former moderate governor which are expected to be brought up again and signed into law. And if something unfortunate should happen to the present governor, don't worry, the just-as-liberal Lieutenant Governor is more than ready to take his place.

So, what can Californians do? Write the State Attorney General? Unfortunately, the new State Attorney General has already revealed his own extreme leftist agenda. In his first week of office, he withdrew from publication the previous Attorney General's opinion which acknowledged how public schools could require parental consent before referring their children to an abortion clinic. He also filed an en banc petition in opposition to the Ninth Circuit's recent decision respecting the free exercise rights of property owners not to rent to individuals whose lifestyles violate their faith. He even withdrew California's opposition to Hawaii's activist judges' recognition of gay marriages.

What about the State Superintendent of Schools? With liberals now in control of the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent is already moving to reinstate a test similar to the controversial CLAS test for students, which courts just four years ago partially preempted because of its psychological nature and invasion of family privacy. (In that earlier litigation, the State Superintendent's attorney argued that parents have no fundamental right over their children's education!)

Now, if you're not concerned about what these anti-family leaders do to Californians, just remember.... as California goes, so goes the nation.

Needless to say, now is not the time to throw in the towel. Absent an outrage from Californians, there remains only one final front from which this assault on the family and faith may be effectively addressed...the courts.

We at Pacific Justice Institute have already begun initial preparation to challenge this legislative barrage. With roughly five hundred affiliate attorneys in California alone (and over 1,000 nationwide), we are hoping to establish solid case precedence. In fact, the uglier and more egregious the legislation on the rights of families and religion, the greater our likelihood of successfully challenging it and establishing historic court decisions.

Without question, it is in times of the greatest challenge that we have the opportunity to establish the greatest victories for our posterity. This could be "our finest hour." At the very least, let's pray for it.

(Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom and the family, and is totally supported by individual donors and churches. For more information, or for free press releases via e-mail, call them at 1-888-305-9129, or write them at: P.O. Box 4366, Citrus Heights, CA 95611. Their website is www.pacificjustice.org.)