EQCA: We'll Lose SB 48 At Ballot

The new head of Equality California says that the prospect of thwarting a repeal of the LGBT education bill does not look good.

It may not be what the LGBT community wants to hear, but Equality California Executive Director Roland Palencia was quite blunt on a conference call with reporters last week when he acknowledged that should the referendum to overturn Senate Bill 48, the FAIR Education Act, make it to the ballot, we will lose. "The prospects are not good if this gets to the ballot," Palencia said. "I am not under any illusion." Right now the anti-gay groups that spearheaded Proposition 8 are gathering signatures to get the SB 48 referendum on the ballot next year. They have until October 12 to collect 504,760 valid signatures. According to EQCA and its coalition partners, much of that work is currently taking place in churches – no surprise there – but the prospect of hired signature gatherers sprouting up outside big box stores in the final push is very real.