SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown Friday signed SB 230, legislation by Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) that will allow victims of sex slavery to confront their traffickers in court and help prevent others from being violently abused. Character evidence, which includes evidence of the past acts of a criminal defendant, is generally inadmissible at…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that creates a “bill of rights” for LGBTQ seniors in long-term care. Senate Bill (SB) 219, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and sponsored by Equality California, will help protect seniors from discrimination or mistreatment in long-term care facilities. “Our LGBT seniors built…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills today that continues California’s challenge to Trump’s deportation machine and goes further than any state to put immigrant protections into law. The bills, both authored by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), are AB450, the Immigrant Worker Protection Act, that affirmatively protects workers from immigration enforcement through…
SACRAMENTO—Gov. Jerry Brown today signed two bills authored by Assembly Speaker Emeritus Toni Atkins. AB 635 allows California to take the first step toward state-funded medical interpretation services for Medi-Cal patients with limited English proficiency. AB 1795 helps more low-income Californians become eligible for state-covered screening and treatment for breast cancer and cervical cancer. AB…
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Friday that allows organ transplants between HIV-positive donors and HIV-positive recipients. Senate Bill (SB) 1408 was authored by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and co-sponsored by Equality California, AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and Positive Women’s Network-USA. The four organizations are part…
Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) will join a coalition of LGBT and family advocates to urge Gov. Brown to sign Assembly Bill 960, the Equal Protection for All Families Act. The Assembly passed the bill on Monday, and it now heads to the governor’s desk. AB 960 would update current assisted reproduction laws in three…
SACRAMENTO – A bill by California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to protect grocery workers from being fired because of changes in store ownership was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown today in the wake of the news that several Haggen stores will soon undergo another change of ownership since being acquired in…
The first California specific LGBT issue bill I ever lobbied for was 2006’s Justice for Gwen Araujo Act (AB 1170). The “What This Bill Will Do” section of Equality California’s fact sheet stated, “In order to dissuade the use of appeals to prejudice and bias in an attempt to gain acquittal, a favorable plea or…
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown, Saturday signed into law a bill [AB 2501 ], prohibiting the so-called “gay panic” defense that has been used to reduce homicide charges to manslaughter, reports Jurist.org. The defense has been used by defendants who claimed that they were “panicked” into committing a crime due to a homosexual individual making…
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Testimony and advocacy by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (www.nglcc.org) successfully encouraged the California Assembly and State Senate to approve bill AB 1678 that would result in new opportunities for businesses owned by those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. It is believed to be the first bill of…
