Religious liberties group seeks to stop California law over gender definition
A religious liberties group has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop a state law that goes into effect next year which changes the way gender is defined in California schools. Signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month, Senate Bill 777 adds "gender" and "sexual orientation" to the state's education code beginning Jan. 1 and notes the classifications of protected groups that can't be discriminated against in schools. The bill says "no teacher shall give instruction nor shall a school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias" against students. The lawsuit filed by the California Education Committee and Advocates for Faith and Freedom claims the change "recklessly abandons the traditional understanding of biological sex in favor of an elusive definition that is unconstitutionally vague." The suit argues that the new law redefines gender as sex and says it includes "a person's gender identity and gender-related appearance." Robert Tyler, a lawyer for AFF, said if the law is put in place what would prevent a football player from deciding he wants to share the locker room with cheerleaders. Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, which sponsored the bill, said the lawsuit has it all wrong. He said the new law was just a “language cleanup bill” that clarified conflicting state laws regarding students' discrimination and harassment. He said the definition of gender has been in the education code since 2000.
San Jose Mercury News By Associated Press
[Editor’s Note: The complaint filed in the case is below.]
Complaint in Calif. Educ. Comm. v. Schwarzenegger