Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to debate Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in November. In the meantime, he appears keen to continue transforming California into the leftist antithesis of Florida.

Whereas Florida prioritized freedom over fear during the pandemic, Newsom's administration issued various mandates and all but shut down the state's economy. Whereas the Sunshine State protects children from sex-change mutilations and irreversible hormone therapies, California is now a "refuge" for those seeking confusion-affirming medical interventions. Whereas Newsom ratified a law enabling judges to keep men who prey on grade-schoolers 10 years their junior, between the ages of 14 and 17, off sex-offender registries, DeSantis signed a bill making sexual battery of a child a death penalty offense.

In his latest contrastive effort, Newsom has ensured that parental pressure and conscientious educators won't get in the way of state-approved LGBT and identitarian propaganda finding its way into the hands of 5.9 million K-12 students in over 1,000 districts throughout California.

Newsom — whose state routinely ranks among the lowest on the CATO Institute's "Freedom in the 50 States" index — ratified California Assemblyman Corey Jackson's AB 1078 on Monday, ensuring that questionable library books, textbooks, and other curricular materials that contain "inclusive and diverse perspectives" cannot be dropped from circulation in schools.

School boards will now also face financial penalties if they reject works of leftist agitprop that extol the "contributions" of non-straights and various other favored identity groups.

Jackson's bill glossed over the various reasons why certain works of LGBT propaganda have been removed in schools farther afield, providing instead a blanket accusation that restricted access to classroom and library materials featuring non-straights constitutes both discrimination and unlawful censorship.

The stated purpose of this legislation is to help California create "an equitable learning environment where all pupils, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) pupils and Black, Indigenous, and other pupils of color feel welcome, including through honest discussions of racism, the history of slavery in our society and in California, and the diversity of gender and sexual orientation that reflects the lived reality of those pupils."

AB 1078 goes into effect immediately.

State Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R) characterized the bill earlier this month as "just another example of Sacramento stepping in and telling local school districts what they can and cannot do."

"This bill is government blackmail to our locals," said state Assemblyman Devon Mathis (R).

"From Temecula to Tallahassee, fringe ideologues across the country are attempting to whitewash history and ban books from schools," Newsom said in a statement. "With this new law, we're cementing California's role as the true freedom state: a place where families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what's right for them."

Newsom's mention of Temecula is in reference to the debate earlier this year over the inclusion of activistic content pertaining to a statutory rapist in the Temecula Valley Unified District's elementary school curriculum.

TheBlaze previously reported that Dr. Joseph Komrosky, TVUSD president, and other governing board members expressed concerns in May about Harvey Milk's inclusion in the social studies curriculum piloted by teachers in the district and approved by the California Department of Education.

"My question is why even mention a pedophile?" Komrosky asked.

Temecula board members further stressed there had been a lack of parental input concerning the implementation of the new social studies curriculum for elementary schools.

Notwithstanding Newsom's rhetoric about familial input on "what's right for them," the governor demonized those who took issue with the material about Milk and forced school board's capitulation with the threat of a $1.5 million fine, reported the Associated Press.

Tony Thurmond, the Democratic state superintendent of public instruction, suggested Monday that "AB 1078 sends a strong signal to the people of California — but also to every American — that in the Golden State — we don't ban books — we cherish them. ... Rather than limiting access to education and flat out banning books like other states, we are embracing and expanding opportunities for knowledge and education, because that’s the California way."

One of the books Democrats have defended keeping in school libraries is Maia Kobabe's "Gender Queer," which reportedly contains the following: "'I got a new strap-on harness today. ... I can't wait to put it on you. It will fit my favorite dildo perfectly. You will look so hot. I can't wait to have your c**k in my mouth. I'm going to give you the b***job of your life, then I want you inside of me."

Another child-targeted work of LGBT that schools will likely be unable to drop is Alex Gino's "Melissa," which contains the following: "She had since read on the Internet you could take girl hormones that would change your body, and you could get a bunch of different surgeries if you wanted them and had the money. This was called transitioning. ... You could even start before you were eighteen with pills called androgen blockers that stopped the boy hormones already inside you from turning your body into a man’s."

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