Texas BOE approves textbook changes based on anti-gay law

Just saw this on a news site I frequent:

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Board of Education approved new health textbooks for the state's high school and middle school students Friday after the publishers agreed to change the wording to depict marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

More after the fold...

The board decision could affect books sold in dozens of states because of Texas’ market clout as the nation’s second-largest buyer of textbooks. On Wednesday, a board member charged that the proposed new books ran counter to a Texas law banning the recognition of gay civil unions because the texts used terms like "married partners" instead of "husband and wife."

After hearing the debate Thursday, one publisher agreed to include a definition of marriage as a "lifelong union between a husband and a wife." Another changed phrases such as "when two people marry" and "partners" to "when a man and a woman marry" and "husbands and wives."

At least one board member had the guts to stand up to this crap:

Board member Mary Helen Berlanga, a Democrat, asked the panel to approve the books without the changes. Her proposal was rejected on a 10-4 vote.

"We're not supposed to make changes at somebody's whim," Berlanga said. "It's a political agenda, and we're not here to follow a political agenda."

Unfortunately, Ms. Berlanga, most school boards DO have and DO follow political agendas.

Board member Terri Leo, a Republican, said she was pleased with the publisher's changes. She had led the effort to get the publishers to change the texts, objecting to what she called "asexual stealth phrases" such as "individuals who marry."

I love that -- "asexual stealth phrases." Give me a frickin' break.

"Marriage has been defined in Texas, so it should also be defined in our health textbooks that we use as marriage between a man and a woman," Leo said.

Texas lawmakers last year passed a law that prohibits the state from recognizing same-sex civil unions. The state already had a ban on gay marriage.

A controversy arose last year in Texas when the board approved new biology textbooks that contained Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, brushing aside opposition from religious groups.

I fully expect similar goings-on to happen here in Georgia now that 75% of our population voted in a similar amendment. I also suspect that Texas will have a much harder time brushing aside future controversies such as evolution when they arise. The Christian conservatives have flexed their muscles and will not be as easily dismissed.

We are in for a long, hard fight.

[Crossposted at Angry Liberal]