Gov. Arnold tosses school moral codes

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has tossed out all sexual moral conduct codes at colleges, private and Christian schools, daycare centers and other facilities throughout his state, if the institutions have any students who get state assistance.

The governor yesterday signed a bill that would require all businesses and groups receiving state funding -- even if it's a state grant for a student -- to condone homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality.

There is no exception for faith-based organizations or business owners with sincerely held religious convictions, critics note.

"The gates of hell are prevailing against the church," Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, told WorldNetDaily. "It's because Christian colleges and churches have ignored the political process for so long. Now the political process, absent religious values, is coming back to assault the church."

"This isn't even a veiled attempt at subtly advancing the radical homosexual agenda," said Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute. "SB1441 is an outright, blatant assault on religious freedom in California."

Her group's analysis of the legislation concluded it will prevent parochial schools such as private, Christian and other religious institutions from getting financial assistance for students if they maintain a code of conduct that does not endorse such behavior.

Whether that behavior is approved by their religious beliefs is, at this point, irrelevant, the analysis showed.

"As a citizen of California and a religious person, I am terribly disappointed in Gov. Schwarzenegger," said Meredith Turney, the legislative liaison for CRI. "It is bad public policy to add to the list of protected classes a sexual behavior.

"Equating sexual preference with the immutable characteristics of age, national origin or race will result in other variable behaviors being added to the list of invariable classes rightfully protected," she said.

Constitutional assurances of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech both are destroyed by the action, CRI said. And Thomasson believes it is "setting up a tremendous church-state conflict in the courts."

"Arnold Schwarzenegger has two faces," said Thomasson. "He speaks at churches and says he believes in religious freedom and family values, yet he's stabbing pro-family Californians in the back."

"This bill is yet another attempt to prevent citizens with moral and religious principles from expressing their beliefs and educating their children according to those beliefs," said England. "On behalf of California families, private schools and other private organizations, I express our outrage at this attack on our freedom."

"Today's disastrous action by Schwarzenegger means Christian and other faith-based colleges in California will be forced to promote transsexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality if they accept students with Cal Grants," concluded Thomasson's organization.

He said the governor "has trampled religious freedom to satisfy hyperactive sexual activists."

"He's not the lesser of two evils, he's doing evil," Thomasson said.

CCF earlier had publicized the situation, and generated thousands of telephone calls, e-mails and faxes opposing the plan.

But it was supported by Democrats in the state legislature and specifically requires "any program or activity that receives any financial assistance from the state" to support the alternative sexual lifestyle choices.

CCF said the change also will affect any program or activity at the local level that gets any state funding from programs including Medi-Cal, State Disability Insurance, CalWORKS, food stamps, Unemployment Insurance, Workers' Compensation, child support services, veterans services, home loan assistance programs and others.

And as bad as the single bill is, the CCF said, several other "sexual indoctrination bills" are heading to the governor. One would prohibit textbooks or school-sponsored activities from "reflecting adversely" on a certain list of sexual choices.

Another would allow the California superintendent of public instruction to arbitrarily withhold state funds from any district that does not adequately promote the State Department of Education's "model policy" promoting transsexuality, bisexuality or homosexuality in its school policies.

Still another would spend state money promoting transsexual, bisexual and homosexual lifestyles.

As WND reported, James Dobson, president of the action affiliate of Focus on the Family ministries, earlier broadcast an urgent call to the millions of radio program listeners to contact Schwarzenegger about the homosexual promotions.

Mona Passignano, the state issues analyst for Focus, told WND the combination of bills would reinforce homosexuality and a limited number of other sexual choices but also prevent people from reflecting on their religious beliefs that may address those choices.

"You cannot preach the Gospel. If you want to preach about Romans 1, you can't. Someone could say, 'That makes me feel bad,'" she said. "You cannot preach what the Bible says.

"If you're a Christian, it's got to be alarming. If you are not a Christian, it's got to be alarming," she said. "Because what comes next?

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