The politics of naming a sports team...

Sometimes, legislators have too much time on their hands...

he state Assembly on Thursday approved a bill that would bar public schools, including Colusa High School, from using Redskins as a nickname for their sports teams.

By a 41-32 vote, lawmakers approved AB 13 by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, which would impose the ban starting Jan. 1, 2007. The legislation now goes to the Senate.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed virtually the same bill last year, saying that the decision of what to call teams should be left to local school officials.

But Goldberg said Redskins was a derogatory term for Native Americans.

"I do not believe for a minute that anybody intended to be harmful when they selected those names, but the lack of malicious intent does not mean it does no harm," she said.

The bill's opponents said they hadn't heard any complaints from Indian tribes in their districts and that the Legislature had more important issues to deal with.

"This is political correctness run amok," said Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto.