EDITORIAL – Illinois, SpongeBob declaring diversity OK

In a small victory for gay rights, the Illinois House passed an initiative yesterday banning… In a small victory for gay rights, the Illinois House passed an initiative yesterday banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, which the Democratic governor says he supports and will most likely sign.

Elsewhere, in a small moment of insanity, the American Family Association has accused a children’s video, which features various cuddly cartoon characters including SpongeBob SquarePants and Barney the Dinosaur, of indoctrinating children to accept homosexuality.

The video, made by the We Are Family Foundation, will air in March on Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel and the Public Broadcasting System. The foundation also encourages people to sign a tolerance pledge vowing that they accept “the belief that every person is a treasure” and not to discriminate based on race, culture, sexual identity and other characteristics.

Clearly, we can see that the foundation’s main mission is to corrupt this country’s impressionable youth with the thought that people being different is OK. And if the children have been properly indoctrinated to be intolerant, will they really be swayed by a talking sponge in a pineapple under the sea?

In 50 years, when (with any luck) non-discrimination is the rule and not the exception, groups like the American Family Association will be seen as the Dixiecrats or Know Nothings of their era — people clinging to outdated, prejudiced values.

Currently, only 14 states have statutes similar to the one passed in Illinois. Pennsylvania is not among them. It’s time to jump on the bandwagon or board the trolley or, well, get on some sort of moving vehicle and get one on the books.

Gov. Ed Rendell has been good about strong-arming the sometimes-difficult legislators into action. Getting a non-discrimination policy put on the books in this state is important.

Non-discrimination laws aren’t meant to enforce acceptance or monitor opinion. Instead, they give protection to those who’ve been turned down for housing or not given jobs based on the color of their skin or their sexual orientation. And while people might not approve of homosexuality, they shouldn’t have the right to deny gay people housing or jobs.

After all, if we pass such a non-discrimination law, we can party it up with SpongeBob, Barney and, of course, Tinky Winky.