Dan Walters: Gay rights duel joined once again

As the 2007 legislative session begins its final throes, the annual duel between homosexual rights groups and their conservative foes is being rejoined.

The former have already scored one victory in the much-delayed budget that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed last month, a first-ever appropriation for aid to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) victims of domestic violence.

"These types of government and nonprofit partnerships have for many years kept many Californians healthy, safe and self-sufficient, and for the first time the California budget includes such funds for LGBT- specific services," Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, declared after the budget was signed.

There's no shortage of other issues to fuel the perpetual battle between pro- and anti-LGBT rights groups in the dying days of the session. If history is a guide, the pro side will pretty much have its way in a Legislature dominated by liberal Democrats, but the final decision will rest with Schwarzenegger, who sometimes supports the LGBT agenda and sometimes does not.

The American Civil Liberties Union dispatched letters to its activists last week, urging them to pressure Schwarzenegger on this year's batch of bills and noting that during the last biennial legislative session, "Our top five pieces of (LGBT) legislation were vetoed by this governor."

The biggest casualty was a bill to allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses and marry. Schwarzenegger said in his veto message that he was upholding the expression of popular sentiment in Proposition 22, enacted in 2000 and aimed at restricting marriages to opposite-gender couples.

The measure is back as Assembly Bill 43, again carried by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and is one of the most fiercely contested LGBT measures awaiting final action.

Both sides, however, are also gearing up on Senate Bill 777 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-SantaMonica,...

this part is the most shocking

“Both sides, however, are also gearing up on Senate Bill 777 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, which would add sexual orientation to the conditions that schools must protect by prohibiting instruction or other actions that “promotes a discriminatory bias.”

Kuehl and other proponents characterize it as protecting the civil rights and safety of LGBT students, but opponents such as the California Family Council see it as discriminating against those with religious opposition to homosexuality.

“Passage of this bill would essentially silence students and teachers from the free expression of any beliefs and opinions contrary to a total and complete acceptance of all forms of sexual behavior,” the council says in one of its call-to-action bulletins. The Capitol Resource Institute brands SB 777 as “homosexual indoctrination in schools.”

“

This dovetails with the thoughtcrime bill in congress now.

Equality California 2007 sponsored/supported Legislation

AB 43 - Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act
SB 777 - Student Civil Rights Act
AB 394 - Safe Place to Learn Act
SB 518 - Juvenile Justice Safety and Protection Act
AB 14 - Civil Rights Act of 2007
SB 559 – Fair and Equal Taxation for Surviving Partners Act
AB 102 - Name Equality Act
SJR 6 - Resolution Supporting the Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
SB 105 – Domestic Partners Joint Income Tax Filing Implementation Bill
AJR 29 - Resolution Urging Federal Support of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act

AB 43 - Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would guarantee the California Constitution's promise of religious freedom and extend the vital protections afforded by marriage to loving and committed same-sex couples.

SB 777 - Student Civil Rights Act
The Student Civil Rights Act would create uniform nondiscrimination standards within the state’s education code so students, teachers and school administrators clearly understand the protections that are provided within California’s publicly-funded schools and programs.

AB 394 - Safe Place to Learn Act
The Safe Place to Learn Act provides clarification and guidance to school districts and the California Department of Education regarding what steps should be taken to ensure compliance with the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000, AB 537 (Kuehl). This necessary clarification will help to ensure that current school safety standards regarding harassment and discrimination are fully and properly implemented.

SB 518 - Juvenile Justice Safety and Protection Act
Senate Bill 518, the Juvenile Justice Safety and Protection Act, authored by Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), would address the crisis of abuse and discrimination against LGBT youth by instituting some basic safeguards that would benefit all young people residing in state and county juvenile justice facilities, including a Youth Bill of Rights, statutory anti-bias rules, and mandatory training regarding youth rights for correctional officers and other facility staff.

AB 14 - Civil Rights Act of 2007
Assembly Bill 14, the Civil Rights Act of 20067, authored by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), would amend existing nondiscrimination provisions to be consistent with the nondiscrimination protections in the Unruh Civil Rights Act and Government Code Section 11135, which prohibits discrimination in state funded programs and activities. AB 14 is the forth in a series of successful nondiscrimination bills authored by Assemblymember Laird and sponsored by EQCA to strengthen major areas of California law and clarify that people are protected from discrimination regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

SB 559 – Fair and Equal Taxation for Surviving Partners Act
Prior to 2006, California law did not allow registered domestic partners to transfer property between each other without having its value reassessed, which can often result in increased tax liability. The Fair and Equal Taxation for Surviving Partners Act would allow certain domestic partners to seek a reduction in their property taxes if those taxes were unfairly increased prior to the availability of comprehensive domestic partnership protections in California.

AB 102 - Name Equality Act
This legislation would allow domestic partners and married spouses equal opportunity, regardless of gender, to change their surnames upon marriage or domestic partnership registration.

SJR 6 - Resolution Supporting the Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
This resolution calls on Congress and the President to end the discriminatory "Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell" policy that prohibits openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from serving in the Armed Forces by passing the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, H.R. 1246, by Marty Meehan (D-MA), currently pending in Congress.

SB 105 – Domestic Partners Joint Income Tax Filing Implementation Bill
Senate Bill 518, the Juvenile Justice Safety and Protection Act, authored by Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), would address the crisis of abuse and discrimination against LGBT youth by instituting some basic safeguards that would benefit all young people residing in state and county juvenile justice facilities, including a Youth Bill of Rights, statutory anti-bias rules, and mandatory training regarding youth rights for correctional officers and other facility staff.

AJR 29 - Resolution Urging Federal Support of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act
This resolution urges Congress and the President of the United States to pass H.R. 1592/S. 1105, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), also known as the Mathew Shepard Act, which would allow the U.S. Justice Department to investigate and prosecute hate crimes where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

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