California religious group asserts state is overrun with ‘bad’ bills
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A Christian public policy organization condemned nearly 20 bills in California’s legislature Wednesday, alleging the “bad bills” threaten religious liberties and encourage racism.
The California Family Council (CFC) outlined 19 bills ranging on issues from sexual health and drug legalization to police reform and the elimination of the death penalty.
A spokesman for the CFC told Fox News that one of the biggest hurdles the group faces is educating Californians about what is included in the bills lining the state legislature.
“Part of the problem is that the press isn’t covering these issues adequately, so people are ignorant of what the legislature is doing and how these proposed laws will affect their neighbors and family,” CFC spokesman Greg Burt said.
While the group has taken issue with nearly 20 bills, Burt pointed to a specific measure raising eyebrows nationwide that would require high school students to take a course in “ethnic studies.”
The CFC argues this bill would create resentment towards white students, rather than creating a space that opens discussion about racism, as supporters of the measure suggest.
“Lessons falsely tell students to feel guilty for crimes done by long-dead figures with the same color skin,” the CFC said in a statement Wednesday. “It also encourages teens to judge people not by the content of their character, but by the racial or sexual identity group they belong to.”
The group also pointed to legislation they argue would create “handicaps” when it comes to policing sex trafficking across the state.
Bill SB 357 would repeal current laws and legalize the act of loitering with the “intent to commit prostitution.”
The law is an attempt by California lawmakers to target the sex buyers exploiting prostitutes, rather than policing women or men in vulnerable situations.
But the CFC argues this law will only make it harder for police officers to crack down on sex trafficking.
“You can’t fight against trafficking by passing laws to make sex trafficking easier,” Brut said.
The ACLU, which has thrown its support behind bill SB 357, could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a statement, the civil rights group applauded the bill, introduced by state Sen. Scott Weiner last month, and said the existing law has allowed for “overbroad interpretation and enforcement” and has “led to discriminatory stops and disproportionate arrest rates of already targeted communities.”
The measures contested by CFC are set to be voted on by June 4.
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