SB 777 opponents and supporters at odds over intent
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
By Rick DelVecchio
Skylar Simmons is a second grade student at San Francisco’s St. Charles Borromeo School, a member school of the Alliance of Mission District Catholic Schools. Now in its third year, the Alliance is working to enhance academic achievement and to address financial challenges of archdiocesan inner city schools. See coverage on Pages 12-13.
Vatican: climate change demands cooperation UNITED NATIONS (CNS) — Addressing the United Nations, a Vatican official said climate change demands a new cooperative international strategy to avoid a “bleak future.” “Climate change is a serious concern and an
inescapable responsibility for scientists and other experts, political and governmental leaders, local administrators and international organizations, as well as every sector of human society and each human perVATICAN: CLIMATE , page 19
SAN FRANCISCO – Catholic organizations including the public policy office of the California Catholic bishops are at odds with advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights about the California Student Civil Rights Act, a proposed law said to be designed to protect public school students against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Catholic advocates charge the measure could undercut marriage and harm children by further fragmenting families while adding no legal protections to those that already exist. The bill, which passed the state Assembly Sept. 11 by a 21-to-15 vote, was approved by the Senate in May and will become law if signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It would amend the state Education Code to specify that students are entitled to equal rights regardless of disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or any other characteristic contained in state Penal Code’s definition of hate crimes. Gender, under the bill, includes a person’s “gender identity and gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.” Religion is defined as including all aspects of religious belief and observance, including agnosticism and atheism. Sexual orientation, as the bill is written, means heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality. Sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, the bill is intended to consolidate various anti-discrimination provisions scattered throughout the Education Code, said Alice Kessler, government affairs director for Equality California, a statewide lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender advocacy group and the bill’s sponsor. “There is inconsistency among all those different statutes,” she told Catholic San Francisco. “What our bill seeks to do is make them consistent with one another and consistent with the overall prohibition against discrimination.” By listing all the classes protected against discrimination in the Penal Code, bill supporters say it is designed to cover all students and to guide school districts in developing anti- discrimination policies. The lack of clarity in the existing law has resulted in expensive lawsuits against school districts that have failed to protect LGBT students from harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to Equality California. The bill exempts religiously controlled schools if the provisions would be inconsistent with a school’s religious tenets. The California Catholic Conference is urging the governor to veto the measure, arguing it is unnecessary because existing law prohibits teachers and school districts from giving any lesson or sponsoring any activity that reflects adversely on students because of their identity. The conference also is concerned that the bill, SB 777, could prompt a backlash against traditional views of marriage and gender and promote alternatives as equally valid. “We feel it fails to make clear the legal distinction between the appropriate prohibition of discrimination against individuals and groups based on certain characteristics, and the promotion of certain characteristics and behaviors,” said Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the Sacramento-based conference which is the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops. “We’re asking the governor to veto this and move to other ways to protect students,” he said. Bill May, chairman of Catholics for the Common Good, a San Francisco-based national lay apostolate for the evangelization of culture, called the measure “part of an ongoing agenda to change marriage and family.” “There is a public interest in civil marriage that peoSB 777, page 11
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Pet blessings set . . . . . . . . . 6 Father O’Rourke feted . . . . 8 College fair. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Scripture . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
San Jose deacon’s novel leads to film on Jesse James
Fairfax parish school marks first half century
Bobby Kennedy, Jr., shows his dedication to St. Francis
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SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classified ads. . . . . . . . . . 23
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