Changing Seasons; Changing Terms
Changing Seasons; Changing Terms
By Rebecca Burgoyne
Solomon’s poem in Ecclesiastes 3 portrays the rhythm of human life; there is indeed a time for everything – from the mundane to the momentous, and from the good to the bad. Such is life on earth, as the seasons pass and the months fly by. Such a timetable is apparent in the California Legislature, as well, although the steady rhythm of quiet, Capitol downtime in the fall this year became a short burst of activity.
After a legislative session of partisan posturing in which legislators failed to deal with many major issues, legislators returned to the Capitol in mid-October for several concurrent special sessions – successfully dealing with water supply issues and changing state law to qualify for federal education money.
Unable to deal with core issues during the regular session, the divisively partisan Legislature instead has focused on partisan issues advancing measures of value to powerful special interests. What we have witnessed in the California Capitol during the past decade – and more recently on the federal scene – is a whittling away of rights through incremental legislation, activist courts, and redefining terms. Much of this has been a slow change, unnoticed by the vast majority of citizens. Abortion is a “choice,” homosexual preference is a “right to marry,” and physician-assisted suicide is fast-becoming “aid in dying.”
Redefining life
In March 2003, then-Governor Gray Davis proclaimed the news, “California is the most pro-choice state in America – and proud of it.” Since the dark day in 1973, when the United States Supreme court enshrined a woman’s “right” to abortion in the Roe v. Wade decision, California legislators and anti-life advocates, embracing expediency and moral relativism, chipped away at the rights and protections of preborn life. During the Davis administration, California enacted Senate Bill (SB) 1301, which guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion in California – even if the United States Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Achieving that over-arching goal, legislators moved on to “cutting-edge” developments in areas like in vitro fertilization, physician-assisted suicide (PAS), and stem-cell research. While Californians have managed to repel most forays into legislating PAS, last year the Legislature passed a bill that requires physicians to counsel patients about “end-of-life” considerations. Add to that this year’s major chip – Senate Bill (SB) 471, which promotes embryonic stem-cell curricula and establishes stem-cell and biotechnology education and workforce development as a state priority.
Redefining marriage
A decade ago, the legislative push was on to obtain all of the “rights” and benefits of marriage for homosexual partners in “domestic partnerships.” First created by Assembly Bill (AB) 26 in 1999, each subsequent legislative session has expanded the scope and privileges associated with this counterfeit marriage so that California domestic partners now enjoy virtually every right and responsibility available to married couples by the state of California. While activists have failed to usurp the name marriage legislatively, they continue their battle in the courts and public square.
During the past decade, pro-homosexual activists packaged their message as a fight for “equal rights,” succeeded in defining sexual orientation as a “civil right,” and caged their message as one of “tolerance” and “safety.” Such efforts proved expedient, as they undertook a concentrated effort to permeate public schools with a decidedly pro-homosexual message.
In 2006, a trio of pro-homosexual bills appeared in the California Legislature only to meet with failure – two of them to the governor’s veto pen. They returned the following year, and this time two major proposals – SB 777 and AB 394 – were signed into law, making an imprint on what children are taught about homosexuality and “tolerance.” This year, the passage of Senate Bill 572, which promotes a “day of significance” honoring homosexual icon Harvey Milk, provided another entry point into public schools for teaching the acceptance of homosexual behavior.
The Year Ahead
With the new year, legislators will once again return to the Capitol from their recess to do “the people’s business,” and we will see another season of change, caged within the old comfortable rhythms of life. New proposals – and a few old ones – will be introduced for consideration, and two-year bills (holdovers from 2009) will be debated. By spring, the rhythm will move onto committee hearings.
There’s a part for citizens to take as well. Resolve to remain involved, to express your opinions to your legislator in a timely way. Our involvement, too, has its purpose and will yield success in time. Perhaps the reach of the dysfunctional, one-sided Legislature will be limited by budget constraints, major unknowns, and the mood of the people, who are dissatisfied with a Legislature that can’t deal with major issues, but finds time to whittle away the rights of Californians.
Printed in the December 2009 edition of the Christian Examiner
