San Diego LGBTQ rights organization Canvass for a Cause (CFAC) was part of the public lobby in favor of Gov. Jerry Brown signing Assembly Bill 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act, into law. The bill allows transgender students at public elementary and secondary schools to use the restroom and locker room, as well as play on the sports team that corresponds with their gender identity. Prohibiting a student from doing so will be a violation of state law as of 2014.
Friday Aug. 9, two days prior to the governor signing his support for the bill, CFAC activists hit the streets in San Diego and Sacramento and facilitated 176 phone calls from the public to Gov. Brown’s office. Additionally, CFAC activists and volunteers delivered more than 1,000 letters urging the governor to side with equality.
Just days after this LGBTQ victory, anti-gay groups like the Capitol Resource Institute and the Pacific Justice Institute, filed a referendum with the California Attorney General Kamala Harris.
“We are not surprised that the same anti-gay coalitions that opposed the FAIR Education Act are now trying to repeal AB 1266 and we are ready to oppose their efforts. As a grassroots organization we are on the ground every day on busy streets, at malls, and in shopping centers, the same place petition gatherers go to get signatures for a state-wide referendum. If and when we see paid or volunteer petitioners out there trying to repeal AB 1266, we will be there, ensuring that voters know the impact of their signature,” states Rachel Scoma, executive director of Canvass for a Cause.
For members of the LGBTQ community and their allies who want to participate in CFAC’s “Decline to Sign” effort, please contact Canvass for a Cause at 619-630-7750.
