On the brink of an important hearing on the controversial pro-homosexual curriculum for the state of California, Chinese Christians are called to raise their voice against the threat to the next generation.
The bill, SB 1437, is drafted by the Los Angeles-based lesbian Democrat Sheila James Kuehl. It prohibits negative messages about transsexuality, cross-dressing, bisexuality, and homosexuality or same-sex marriage on instructional materials, textbooks and school-sponsored activities. The bill also requires schools to teach about the historical contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons.
Pro-family groups and Christians are deeply concerned over the bill. Not only it represents the direct impact of homosexuality is expanding to the next generation, but also the liberal move has been pushing forward quickly by the democrat-controlled California State Senate. The Christian voice appears to have forced to keep silent under such "government-sponsored" homosexual agenda.
"Obviously, this is part of a long-term plan. Because they [homosexuals] know that they cannot convince the older generation, then they work on the next generation," said Dr. Bill Tam, the executive director of the Traditional Family Coalition (TFC), a California-based pro-family movement founded by leading Chinese evangelicals such as Rev. Thomas Wang.
During a seminar about homosexual movement sponsored by TFC for Bay Area church leaders and ministries in March, Tam sharply pointed out that the next generation is the prey of homosexual movement. Chinese churches, as the conscience of the society, must stand up and "say no" to homosexual movement, Tam exhorted.
As there is a strong presence of Chinese community in California, Chinese Christians are urged to speak up against SB 1437, lining up with the other awaken American churches or pro-family groups.
"This bill is especially powerful because it’s almost a government-sponsored move that forces the schools to adopt it," Tam warned as he mentioned of the other pending Assembly Bill 606. AB 606 threatens school districts with loss of state funding unless schools adopt gay-friendly policies, update their publications to reflect the same, and provide information on training, curricula and other resources specific to sexual orientation and gender identity. Tam described the "state mandated gay agenda" as "outrageous".
Commenting on the requirement of the bill SB 1437 on textbooks, Tam said, "This is very unreasonable. There is no other group that can enjoy such privilege. Especially in a History book, both positive and negative aspects of a country or a group must be recorded to reveal the objective fact."
Tam elaborated by giving an example: Even the bad things that Christianity has done in the history are recorded in textbooks. Will the government ever formulate a law to make all textbooks only testify the positive side about Christianity? The answer is "never."
Tam compared the idea of teaching about the historical contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons suggested by SB 1437 to how Hitler tried to justify his Nazi ideology in the education for German youths, calling it an "indoctrination."
"The bill will give a privilege to homosexuals, so we should stand against it. In long-term, it’s very obvious that they can gain sympathy of the next generation and next generation will accept them as the mainstream. Later, people will even come to accept whatever liberal laws the homosexuals propose," Tam continued.
Tam reiterated that the opposing voice of the Chinese Christians and churches in California are very crucial to counteract the overwhelming liberal agenda. And they must take action before it is too late.
In particular, the effort in this weekend before the hearing on Monday is of paramount importance as he said, "Actually they should have passed the bill by the Senate law two days ago, but it was postponed. The reason behind is that they can see there is not enough vote to support the bill and they can hear much voice of opposition. If they take it out now for vote, it will certainly not be passed.
Meanwhile, they have postponed it. They are probably trying to negotiate with more senators to gain more support before putting the bill on the floor for vote. Next week they will take out again, the final result really depends on how well they work this weekend."
Tam encouraged all Chinese Christians and churches to call and fax the state senators, telling them that they disagree with SB 1473 and giving pressure on them such that they will not pass the law easily.
"If we don’t do something, we will lose the chance," said Tam as he stressed on the great responsibility of the informed Christians.
"Most schools are controlled by liberals in California, they don’t have to say no even though they are the receiving end of the legislation. In addition, most parents are not aware of the issue and they don’t really care much about it," he explained.
"Only informed Christians are aware of this and they are the only ones who can do something. In California, there are conservative Christians who have been writing letters to them and calling them, so the vote is being held right now. The pressure is already on, many American churches have started to take actions and the Chinese should apply their pressure too."
When asked about the next step in case the conservatives lose the battle and the bill is passed on Monday, Tam explained that there will still be two other steps before the bill will become a law.
"The next vote on the California assembly floor, we can call assembly man to urge him to stop it, but most likely it will pass through also. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is therefore the last hurdle. So write and call the governor and ask him to veto the bill, should he veto the bill, he will kill it and it will not become a law," Tam continued.
Finally, even though the liberal voice is very strong, Tam encouraged Christians not to give up calling and petitioning the state senators. Currently, Tam has been working closely with another leading pro-family group California Family Council to send out warning letters to inform all American churches about the crisis.
TFC has spearheaded to mobilize the Chinese Christians and churches in the United States to petition for the California Protect Marriage Constitution Amendment Initiative, which states that marriage should be legally defined as the union between one man and one woman only, a law that is compatible with biblical teachings. TFC is also strongly defending against the homosexual movement widespread in California.
