Effort to Undo California Gay History Law Fails

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-Opponents of a law that requires California public schools to cover the contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have again failed to qualify a ballot measure that would have overturned the requirement.

Pacific Justice Institute lawyer Kevin Snider said the Stop SB48 campaign did not gather enough signatures by Monday's deadline to put an initiative on the 2014 ballot that would exclude sexual minorities from the list of groups whose roles in history and social science schools must teach.

Snider estimates that the all-volunteer petition circulating effort, which focused largely on churches, collected about 446,000 signatures out of the 504,760 required.

The group's earlier attempt to put the gay history lesson law to a popular vote this year also did not qualify.

Senate Bill 48 took effect in January, but most school districts have not implemented it.