Ahnuld says "no" to the gay-history textbook...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto legislation that would require California textbooks to contain information about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in American history, according to a spokesman.

The bill, which has already been passed by the Senate and awaits a vote in the Assembly, seeks to recognize "the contributions of the LGBT community in the social science curriculum in the same way the state has come to recognize the achievements of women and minorities,” the Sacramento Bee reports.

You know, whenever "Gay Pride Week" hit UT, the campus got plastered with flyers like, "Did you know Tchaikovsky was gay?" or "Did you know Susan B. Anthony was gay?" They'd have a picture of the person in question, and a little pro-sodomite blurb underneath.

I remember looking at the Tchaikovsky flyer and thinking to myself, "Did you know that Tchaikovsky led a miserable life and committed suicide? Yeah, there's something to be proud about."

Now, I wonder if these textbooks would have included such noteworthy sodomites as, say, Ernst Röhm--after all, he helped transform a nation from crushing humiliation to a force to be reckoned with (all because he had a, *ahem*, "way with men," perhaps?).

Yep, there's something to be proud about.

Now, before someone says, "Jeremy, you're being insensitive to gays." Nothing's keeping them from petitioning the local library or university for some special display to educate us all about the joys of the ranks of child molesters and HIV-carriers. That's their right, protected by the First Amendment. But when they make it law to teach the alleged "social contributions" of rump-rangers, carpet munchers and people who think the best solution to identity crises is self-butchery, they've crossed the line from mere awareness-raising to thought control.

And that is where First Amendment arguments fail. Freedom of Speech includes leaving the hearer the right either to listen, or ignore. When you force them to swallow your message, you're no longer playing the role of the "enlightened," but the thought policeman.