Project Queer

California grants new rights to LGBT community

Sacramento took notice last year of the political clout of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. New laws that took effect Sunday include:

1. Requiring school districts to have a uniform process for dealing with gay bullying complaints.

2. Mandating that school personnel intervene if they witness gay bullying.

3. Requiring state universities and colleges to create and enforce campus policies protecting LGBTs from harassment and to appoint employee contacts to address on-campus LGBT matters.

4. Correcting inequalities between domestic partnerships and heterosexual marriages, including domestic partner health benefits sharing.

5. Allowing courts to consider the relationship between a child and a nonbiological parent when considering child rights cases involving birth parents, adoptive parents and gay or lesbian guardians.

6. Providing public accommodation and protection in education, housing and employment for gender identity and expression.

7. Making it easier for transgender Californians to get a court petition to change their gender on official documents such as birth certificates.

8. Requiring employers with state contracts worth more than $100,000 to have nondiscrimination policies in place for LGBT workers and their partners.

9. Including gender identity and sexual orientation of potential judges into the state’s Judicial Applicant Data Report to ensure that state courts are diverse.

10. Providing that if a gay couple got married in California but live in a state that won’t grant them a divorce, the California court will have jurisdiction to grant them a legal divorce.

11. Mandating that school textbooks and social studies include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender accomplishments.

Everything EVERY state needs to be doing. EVERY STATE! You here that, LA? Because we’re everywhere and we need the same respect non-queers have!