The opponents of California’s Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act — also known as SB48 — on Wednesday conceded that they had failed to gather the signatures required to overturn the landmark bill that requires the historical contributions of gay, lesbian and transgender Americans be included in history lessons and classroom textbooks.
After a last minute rally in an attempt to uncover or gather more signatures, the “Stop SB48” group sent an email to their supporters, entitled, “We Fought the Law and the Law Won,” reported the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News.
“Unfortunately we did not collect enough signatures to qualify the referendum to overturn SB48. That law will be in place in our schools at the first of next year.
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“In the coming days you will see the celebration of our opponents. We know this because it has already started in social media and other places. And some of the rhetoric will be harsh. Remember, despite what they say about us, we opposed SB 48 simply because we do not believe that children should be exposed to an intentionally one-sided argument about lifestyles and values we do not hold.”
Rebekah Orr, Director of Communications for Equality California — the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group — told LGBTQ Nation on Tuesday that there were serious problems with the signature gathering petition process and that there were “irregularities” with a substantial portion of the petitions already collected.
