WESTMINSTER, California (AP) -- A small California school district has refused to recognize a state law banning discrimination against transsexuals, a decision that could cost it millions of dollars in state and federal funding.
Three of five trustees on the board of the Westminster School District in Orange County said they oppose the rules because they are Christians.
"I might take a lot of heat for it today, but the rewards are going to be great in heaven," said Judy Ahrens, one of the three.
Ahrens, Helena Rutkowski and Blossie Marquez-Woodcock were criticized by the remaining two trustees, school administrators and parents.
"We do not see this as a moral issue," said Trish Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the district's superintendent and other administrators. "It is a matter of complying with the law."
The current policy does not reflect a state regulation prohibiting discrimination based on "perceived" gender, including people who consider themselves transsexual. The three opposing board members say the law allows young children and staff to immorally redefine their sexual identity.
Their stance could force state and federal agencies to withhold up to $40 million for the district's 17 schools -- two-thirds of its budget.
Westminster is the only district in the state that has hesitated to update its anti-discrimination policies, said Gary Page, the state Education Department official who reviewed Westminster.
The district's current code also does not explicitly protect gay students and staff from discrimination, but the board has yet to discuss that part of the state code in depth.
The district meets again on the issue April 1 and has until April 12 to accept the new laws.
After that, it will be open to formal challenges, said Michael Hersher, an attorney for the state Education Department.
People like them complain about radical judges making decisions for them (ie. Alabama, Massachusettes) when they are perfectly content with doing the same thing to others. Is it just me or are fundies some of the most hypocritical people ever?
Mayabird is my girlfriend
Justice League:BotM:MM:SDnet City Watch:Cybertron's Finest "Well then, science is bullshit. "
-revprez, with yet another brilliant rebuttal.
Fire Fly wrote:People like them complain about radical judges making decisions for them (ie. Alabama, Massachusettes) when they are perfectly content with doing the same thing to others. Is it just me or are fundies some of the most hypocritical people ever?
But that's just me.
But don't you see? They'll be rewarded for their intolerance and apparent will to ruin thousands of children's educations...in heaven! It all makes so much sense!*
*Biggest lie ever
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation." -Herbert Spencer
"Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." - Schiller, Die Jungfrau von Orleans, III vi.
I just find it amusing, weird, stupid, whatever that there are some people out there who are willing to do stupid acts just because their religion tells them to do it. In this case, these people are willing to hurt the education of thousands of kids over something so trivial just because they're "Christians" and they'll be rewarded for it in heaven. This almost ranks up there with the fundie Islamics who claim that killing the "enimies of Islam" will give them dozens of virgins in the afterlife. And people wonder why we fight so hard to keep religion and state seperate. I'm sure the people who were against the descrimination code will be fired but being fired alone isn't enough.
Fire Fly wrote:This almost ranks up there with the fundie Islamics who claim that killing the "enimies of Islam" will give them dozens of virgins in the afterlife. And people wonder why we fight so hard to keep religion and state seperate. I'm sure the people who were against the descrimination code will be fired but being fired alone isn't enough.
But that's just me.
No, it's not just you. And not only does it "rank up there", it's exactly the same. I draw no distinction between fundies whatsoever. Look long and hard at the Bible and ask yourself if a Christian theocracy would be any better than a Muslim one. It wouldn't be.
Ain't it genius? They'll get their funding cut, and so they'll cut their science courses, and purchase second-hand creationist textbooks, because they run cheaper!
Mayabird is my girlfriend
Justice League:BotM:MM:SDnet City Watch:Cybertron's Finest "Well then, science is bullshit. "
-revprez, with yet another brilliant rebuttal.
Lazy Raptor wrote:No, it's not just you. And not only does it "rank up there", it's exactly the same. I draw no distinction between fundies whatsoever. Look long and hard at the Bible and ask yourself if a Christian theocracy would be any better than a Muslim one. It wouldn't be.
What about the part about hacking off hands and such using a sword to punish offenders?
Although, yes, extremists of any sort are generally undesirable.
So, the school staff is willing to lose millions of dollars of funding and wreck the educations of the students so they can discriminate against people who aren't like them with the delusion that it will somehow change them so they can enter an afterlife that might not even exist? I think that's the defenition of "idiocy", "arrogance", and "bigotry".
seems like the use of the afterlife excuse here is just a rationalization of their fear of what is against the norm, something that schoolboards seem to have a lot of.
"I don't come here for the music, or even the drugs. I come here for the Family!!"-Some guy on hash at a concert
WESTMINSTER, California (AP) -- A small California school district has refused to recognize a state law banning discrimination against transsexuals, a decision that could cost it millions of dollars in state and federal funding.
Three of five trustees on the board of the Westminster School District in Orange County said they oppose the rules because they are Christians.
"I might take a lot of heat for it today, but the rewards are going to be great in heaven," said Judy Ahrens, one of the three.
God forbid people from being discriminated against huh?
I'm surprised nobody's popped in here to say that religion was "just an excuse" and not really the cause of this idiocy. After all, that's what they always say after a bit of time has passed and the details aren't fresh any more.
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Darth Wong wrote:I'm surprised nobody's popped in here to say that religion was "just an excuse" and not really the cause of this idiocy. After all, that's what they always say after a bit of time has passed and the details aren't fresh any more.
Well I won't be the one to say it; I'm not fully atheist yet I'm not really Catholic either; it's just that the majority of shit that has occured in my life had caused me to have great doubt in a benevolent divine diety ("Jim, you don't ask the Almighty for his I.D.!"). Thankfully, I haven't become a born-again Christian; instead, I've stuck with my interests and hence why I'm up at this hour rambling on in these forums...
I would like to add that I see some school admin being selfish about what they will receive and not about how/who they will assist while they are here.
While this is clearly a case of Fundalmentalism gone mad, could we be careful to make it clear that it is not Religion as a whole, but a Portion of Religion. Religon Rampent, because I enjoyed an education in a religious School, from Primary school up to, and including, Sixth Form Collage, and nothing like that article above ever occured. In fact even on the holy days of obligation when Masses where held it was acceptable to not attend the Mass, all such Children placed in a single Class room with a Teacher to watch over them. (And in the background two Divorced teachers where known to be living together.) I am simply pointing out that it is Religious Nutcases not Religion in general that leads to situations like the above.
I wouldn't feel the need to make the point, but all to often Nutcases like this get seen as the norm rather than the exception that they are.
From a review of the two Towers.... 'As for Gimli being comic relief, what if your comic relief had a huge axe and fells dozens of Orcs? That's a pretty cool comic relief. '
Skelron wrote:While this is clearly a case of Fundalmentalism gone mad, could we be careful to make it clear that it is not Religion as a whole, but a Portion of Religion. Religon Rampent, because I enjoyed an education in a religious School, from Primary school up to, and including, Sixth Form Collage, and nothing like that article above ever occured. In fact even on the holy days of obligation when Masses where held it was acceptable to not attend the Mass, all such Children placed in a single Class room with a Teacher to watch over them. (And in the background two Divorced teachers where known to be living together.) I am simply pointing out that it is Religious Nutcases not Religion in general that leads to situations like the above.
I wouldn't feel the need to make the point, but all to often Nutcases like this get seen as the norm rather than the exception that they are.
That's like differentiating between hardcore racists and racism itself. Sorry, the excuse doesn't fly. What do you think motivates a "religious nutcase", if not religion?
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
Skelron wrote:
While this is clearly a case of Fundalmentalism gone mad, could we be careful to make it clear that it is not Religion as a whole, but a Portion of Religion. Religon Rampent, because I enjoyed an education in a religious School, from Primary school up to, and including, Sixth Form Collage, and nothing like that article above ever occured. In fact even on the holy days of obligation when Masses where held it was acceptable to not attend the Mass, all such Children placed in a single Class room with a Teacher to watch over them. (And in the background two Divorced teachers where known to be living together.) I am simply pointing out that it is Religious Nutcases not Religion in general that leads to situations like the above.
I wouldn't feel the need to make the point, but all to often Nutcases like this get seen as the norm rather than the exception that they are.
That's like differentiating between hardcore racists and racism itself. Sorry, the excuse doesn't fly. What do you think motivates a "religious nutcase", if not religion?
Do you think all alcohol is evil because there are drunk drivers? Anything not done in moderation is going to effect the "deviant" reaction, be it drinking, racsism, or religion. Additionally, you imply that humans are by nature not rascist when this is not true. People still differentiate two people using their race. It becomes deviant when people feel their race is superior. This ties into religious people exporting their values to discriminate against others.[/quote]
"I don't come here for the music, or even the drugs. I come here for the Family!!"-Some guy on hash at a concert
and I think religious fundementalism is bad. It is the use in excess of alcohol that makes it alcoholism, which leads to bad, just as the excess of religious doctrine makes religion religious fundementalism, which leads to bad in this case. You cannot tie discrimination directly to the concept of religion itself if you refuse to tie the action (drunk driving) to the concept base (alcohol).
"I don't come here for the music, or even the drugs. I come here for the Family!!"-Some guy on hash at a concert
It's bullshit like this that provides me with a good reminder that California is not all socially progressive. It also makes me glad that I never lived in LA.
In any case, can we all agree that this whole incident is simply fundies that are pushing back against all the gay marriage civil disobedience as of late? I mean how many transgenders could they possibly have to make it an issue worth losing $20 million a year over?
