Assemblymember Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) will address participants of Queer Youth Advocacy Day on Monday, April 4 about the importance of taking control of their own lives through engagement in the legislative process, protecting their health, and knowing their rights. The address will take place during the annual Sacramento lobby day for LGBT youth. The youth from all over the state will visit legislators to urge their support for bills of key importance to the LGBT community.
“The lives of these youth are in their own hands,” says Atkins. “Through their active engagement in the process they will move us all closer to the ideal of health and equality.”
Atkins, a lesbian and member of the LGBT Legislative Caucus, will focus on two key pieces of legislation she is carrying: AB 887, Gender Non-Discrimination; and AB 499, Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs.)
AB 887 will strengthen the state’s non-discrimination laws by adding language regarding gender identity and gender expression, making it clear that transgender people are included in the prohibition against discrimination based on gender.
AB 499 enables minors to obtain medical services designed to prevent STDs on their own. Certain incurable illnesses can be prevented through vaccination and other preventive measures, but young people do not always have access to this care. Examples include human papillomavirus (HPV) which can lead to cervical cancer, but which can be prevented through vaccination, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which can lead to AIDS if not properly managed. Atkins will ask the participants in Queer Youth Advocacy Day to advocate on behalf of these bills.
