Good News (Finally) From California

Not much in the way of good news coming out of my state, but this is something to be proud of:

California is poised to become the first state in America to make the teaching of positive contributions made by gay and lesbian people to US history and society compulsory in public schools.

The governor of California, Jerry Brown, must decide whether to incur the wrath of religious and conservative groups lined up against the move and approve a bill that has now cleared both houses of the state assembly. If signed into law, it would require the rewriting of school textbooks and redrawing of the social science curriculum to include lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender history – a move that could have wide ramifications given that California's school roll of 6.2 million children is the largest in the country.

Supporters argued that it would give gay teenagers role models and help combat homophobic bullying. It would redress the imbalance in state schools that are already required to teach about women, entrepreneurs and labour and minority ethnic groups including African-Mexican- and Native Americans.

"We gain a greater appreciation for what it means to be an American," John Pérez, the first openly gay speaker of the Californian assembly, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Now, if we can just STOP:  chipping away at public education, raising tuition at our public universities, cutting library budgets, taking child care subsidies away from the working poor...