BLOG | Archive for the ‘Legislation’ Category

This week the Boy Scouts of America are set to vote on a resolution to allow gay youth to participate in scouting, while still barring LGBT adults from positions of leadership. While we are encouraged at the willingness to change the proposed policy, it is still alarmingly inadequate and it sends the message to both gay and straight youth that discrimination is okay.

We stand for full equality and nothing less.

That is why we are sponsoring Sen. Ricardo Lara’s Youth Equality Act (SB 323), which ends tax subsidies for any youth group, including the BSA, that excludes LGBT people — it demonstrates that discrimination has a real cost.

We won’t achieve full equality without bold, tangible action, and with the Youth Equality Act, California has an opportunity to lead the country in protecting our youth and ensuring that your money and mine doesn’t go to organizations that discriminate against us.

We’re grateful for the extraordinary work our allied organizations have done on the national level urging the BSA to come into the 21st Century, and we’re excited to focus on the Youth Equality Act here in California.

This isn’t just about the BSA — it’s about making sure that our youth can grow up free from the toxic prejudices of the past, no matter what youth group they join. Make no mistake; Equality California’s efforts will not stop until discrimination is eliminated among California groups receiving tax exemptions. This is about making California a state of full equality.

We can’t do this alone — we need you to act now. Watch our video of Eric Andresen, father to Ryan Andresen, the scout denied his Eagle honors for being gay, and make a contribution now to support the Youth Equality Act.

Equality California thanks Assemblymember Phil Ting for his moving statement in support of Tom AB 1266, Assembly Bill 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act, authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano.

Big huge couple weeks for Equality California. We got all six EQCA-sponsored bills passed and signed!

The one that’s been getting the most attention is SB 1172, a bill to end dangerous psychological abuse of minors. Already, anti-equality groups have filed lawsuits; here’s EQCA pro boon counsel David Codell on KPCC discussing the lawsuit and where things stand.

The field team is transitioning into PAC work — making sure that pro-equality candidates are elected throughout the state. Volunteer here to help out!

Next Thursday, at the CAA Screening Room in LA, we’re proud to present a screening of Wish Me Away, a documentary about country star Chely Wright’s coming out. Here she is talking about the movie and her journey with Kentucky Public Radio. She’ll be at the screening, answering questions. For more information and tickets, click here.

Two days later, we’ll be out in Palm Springs, honoring Speaker of the Assembly John A. Pérez, Senator Barbara Boxer, and many more. For tickets and more information, the Palm Springs awards page.

It’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month, and we’ll be delving into that further later in the month. For the moment, get your whistle wet with Queer Music Heritage, a 12-year archive of radio shows about queer music, as well as a wealth of information about Stonewall protest songs, camp records and gay folk music.

For a more modern queer music, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert have a video for “Same Love”, which was made in response to Maryland’s current struggle for the freedom to marry.

Two more brief links: Orlando Cruz is the first openly gay boxer! and the new Catholic bishop in San Francisco doesn’t like the gays and they don’t like him.

As the late Jim Anchower said, it’s been a while since we rapped atcha. We’ve been busy! We were at Oakland Pride, FYF Fest in LA, the governor’s office and across the state having Breakthrough Conversations.

Oh, and we were watching Assembly Speaker John A. Perez at the DNC (video). Money quote: “Opportunity is why we fight. Across the country there are parents who want nothing more than the opportunity to have a job and the ability to put food on the family table. We fight for them. In too many states, even folks who have jobs wake up every morning worrying that they may lose their job simply because they’re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. We fight for them.”

We’re also bracing for September 24, when the U.S. Supreme Court could certify Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Prop. 8 case. If they decline to grant certification, then the freedom to marry is restored in California. For Californians, it’s a bit of a bittersweet moment: If the Supremes don’t grant cert, we’ve won and all the volunteer ministers down at the EQCA offices can start just officiating willy-nilly. But that means that Hollingsworth v. Perry won’t be a binding precedent for the rest of the country — some other brave couple will have to win marriage for everyone. Not to get too much into sports metaphors, but it’s the old dilemma of taking the (sure) extra point kick or going for the two-point conversion.

Maybe we’ve just got football on the brain: Brandon Ayanbedejo of the Baltimore Ravens came out in favor of the freedom to marry, since Maryland’s going to vote on it come November. Which led to Maryland Delagate Emmett C. Burns Jr. to write a very silly letter denouncing Ayanbedejo. To which Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe responded with a very silly, swearing letter back, calling Burns out. For those of you who would prefer a non-swearing, but still very silly letter, Kluwe wrote this version that you can share with gramma. Ayanbadejo “thanks” Burns for bringing the whole thing more attention.

In other traditionally macho pursuits: One year study on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal finds absolutely no negative impact. You can read the full study here (PDF).

Finally, while we’ve been keeping up the pressure on Governor Jerry Brown, we’d like your help too: Do you tweet? Join us — and fabulous leaders like actress Jane Lynch – as we ask California Governor Jerry Brown to protect LGBT youth from dangerous psychological abuse by signing Senate Bill 1172 into law. Tag @JerryBrownGov in your tweet, and don’t forget to use the #SB1172 hash tag.

If you don’t tweet, please go to www.eqca.org/sb-1172 and send a letter in. We can make this happen with your help!

Speaker Pérez, the first gay man in the nation to hold the position of Speaker of a legislative body, gave a moving presentation yesterday in support of SB 1172.

Watch the video above and visit www.eqca.org/sb-1172 to learn more and take action to support this bill yourself.

Despite significant progress made in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement, there are those in society who continue to perceive homosexuality as temporary, or even “curable.” This state of mind is demeaning to the LGBT community and offers false justification to at least 24 clinics across California where sexual orientation conversion efforts still take place. These modern-day clinics are run by licensed mental health providers who attempt to change the sexual orientation of minors from gay to straight. The psychological stress that can result from youth being led to believe they have a “mental illness” is disturbing, particularly when unknowing parents send their children to these clinics.

Soon, however, California may be the first state in the nation to ban such discriminatory practices. Senate Bill 1172 (SB 1172) co-sponsored by Equality California, would ban licensed mental health providers from subjecting minors to sexual orientation conversion efforts. The California Senate approved SB 1172 back in May, and I had the opportunity to attend a hearing in June where an Assembly committee further approved the bill. Now with an upcoming vote on the Assembly floor, I must say I am proud to have been a part of Equality California’s field work that has furthered awareness for SB 1172.

The field work surrounding SB 1172 has offered California’s citizens a chance to lend their voices to government action. EQCA’s Northern and Southern California offices took part in Pride celebrations throughout the summer and in the process collected 8,200 signatures from constituents urging Assembly members to vote in favor of the bill. Perhaps most encouraging, however, has been the enthusiasm of individuals who have personally reached out to their elected officials.

For the past week, Equality California’s staff, interns, and volunteers called constituents in districts with undecided representatives. During these conversations, callers urged proponents of SB 1172 to be directly transferred to their legislatures’ offices where they voiced their support. During my time calling, I quickly found that people were not only willing to be transferred to their representatives; they were unabashedly eager. The dedication of the callers and the passion of the constituents resulted in over 1,000 calls made to legislators’ offices.

This collaboration has been essential in spreading the word about SB 1172 and will continue to be essential as we approach next week’s vote. If you have not informed your legislator about your position on SB 1172, please state your support now. Now is a crucial moment for this piece of legislation, and we cannot back down. We must set a precedent for the rest of our nation by banning this discriminatory practice and, ultimately, keeping our youth safe

Today, Equality California (EQCA) and the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Network will be asking the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to approve an audit of California school districts’ compliance with recent legislation, including Seth’s Law (AB 9) and the Safe Place To Learn Act; (AB 394) . As someone who has learned from and worked for California’s public school system, I feel especially invested in the outcome of this hearing.

During school hours administrators have an obligation to their students’ safety. On-campus organizations like GSA Network are irreplaceable advocates for LGBT youth. Administrative figures, however, must ultimately be held accountable for school-wide safety; it’s the law. The fact that such attainable progress is being hindered by some California schools’ inactivity strikes me as disconcerting.

Schools are ideally meant to be places of learning for all students, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. And yet the stigma that accompanies these societally placed labels, particularly in high school, often makes access to learning less equitable. In school, I remember witnessing a negative perception of, and discomfort with, the LGBT community. Physical bullying was not common at my high school, but verbal harassment definitely occurred, which I believe can be equally hurtful. Degrading slurs slung across the hallway and the derogatory use of the word “gay” were commonplace, and treated largely with apathy.

These incidents were hurtful to both LGBT youth and those who were perceived as LGBT, yet victims often felt powerless to report their harassment. Our students deserve laws that protect them from this discrimination, bullying, and harassment, and they deserve to know that they have legislative rights. LGBT organizations across California have worked tirelessly to ensure youth’s protection; now schools must act. Our public education system must be audited so that we know if our students are being supported as these laws intended. With this audit we would be one step closer to promoting safe schools, furthering inclusion, and finally giving LGBT youth the voice they deserve in their education.

In April, GSA Network, Equality California Institute, Transgender Law Center and The Trevor Project hosted the annual Queer Youth Advocacy Day (QYAD) in Sacramento and I was accepted to participate. For someone like me, who found out about these organizations less than a year prior, this was HUGE for me! I had never heard of this camp, or anything like it, except I knew for a fact my life would be turned around. I was right.

In those four activist-packed days, I learned more than enough to know that my district wasn’t following through with the anti-discrimination laws, and hasn’t been, either. They broke us into groups of what issues we would be focusing on, and I was lucky enough to be sorted into the Joint Audit Legislature Committee (JLAC) group, where I would later find out, my personal experiences would mean a whole lot more than I ever guessed.

I was bullied for years and teachers never addressed it until I had to step in and face the issue myself, in a violent matter. It wasn’t until then that administrators stepped in, and even then, I was the one who was wrongly disciplined, not my bully. This is why I am going to speak tomorrow in Sacramento with assembly members and joining together with Equality California and GSA Network to testify on why California Public Schools (especially in Central Valley) should be audited to see if districts are complying with laws set in place.

I’m so nervous and excited to know that one small voice can make a difference! I really hope this audit is passed.

After reading yesterday’s fantastically data heavy AB 1856 post by Josh, I was inspired to create this infographic visualizing the realities faced by so many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth in Foster Care.

Please take a moment to share this with folks on Facebook or Twitter using the links above and learn more about AB 1856 here.

Out-of-home youth, the term of art for those youth housed through social services, are already a vulnerable population. Multiplying that vulnerability for many is the pernicious problem of ignorance and inattentiveness to issues around sexual orientation and gender expression. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth comprise 20 to 40 percent of the homeless youth population according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (data on total homeless population are notoriously hard to collect), the Open Doors Project reports that 30 percent of LGBT youth experienced violence from their families after coming out, and (again from the NGLTF) 26 percent of LGBT youth are thrown out of their homes after coming out. Of the approximately 42,500 youth in the California foster care system, between 5 and 10 percent identify as LGBT.

In a study of New York’s foster care system: 100 percent of LGBT youth reported verbal harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity; 70 percent reported physical violence due to their orientation or identity; 78 percent were removed at least once from foster placements due to hostility toward their gender identity or sexual orientation; 56 percent of them spent time living on the streets because they felt “safer” than in their group or foster home.

In a national study of social work students, educators and practitioners, while 79 percent reported sexual orientation non-discrimination policies, only 39 percent had similar policies for gender expression.  Read the rest of this entry »