I was browsing out at Jesus General when I happened upon this little piece from the LA Times editorial page. First I checked the byline to make sure it wasn’t from The Onion and second I checked to see if today was April 1st. Nope, this is the real deal straight from the heart of Texas:

Boys cannot audition for soprano or alto roles in that state’s All-State Choir. Girls cannot audition for tenor or bass. No matter where their talents lie.

As a result, 17-year-old Mikhael Rawls, who already has won awards for his countertenor — the male parallel to soprano — can’t try out in the part where he excels.

That rule was made by the Texas Music Educators Assn. You would think music teachers would know that countertenors such as Mikhael are a widely respected part of classical music and tradition.

But then, Texas educators can be a touchy lot on gender issues. In its eagerness to keep middle-schoolers from thinking gay marriage might be OK, that state’s Board of Education required textbooks to define marriage as the “lifelong union between a husband and wife.” Apparently, the close to 50% of Texas marriages that end in divorce don’t count.

Remember also that this is the state where they wanted to ban titillating cheerleading routines and they mandate abstinence-only sex-ed textbooks

We can’t have the boys singin’ the girls parts! Why, next thing you know the boys will want to sign up for Home Ec and the girls will want to sign up for Auto Shop. It’s all part of that evil homosexual agenda! It’s a short hop from boys signin’ high notes in choir to cross-dressed men singing high notes at the gay cabaret.