Leno kicks off another try at Harvey Milk Day
With Academy Award-winner Sean Penn on hand to provide Hollywood star power, state Sen. Mark Leno launched a new effort Tuesday to recognize May 22 in California as Harvey Milk Day in honor of the slain San Francisco supervisor and gay rights leader.
In September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill, which would have made Milk’s birthday a “a day of special significance” in the state’s public schools. The governor argued that Milk’s contributions should be “recognized at the local level.”
But Milk’s cause took a huge leap in visibility when Penn received an Oscar last month for his portrayal of Milk, one of the nation’s first openly gay elected officials, in the movie of the same name.
With the Castro district camera shop owner’s name back in the headlines 30 years after his death, Leno, a San Francisco Democrat, is trying again with a new bill, SB572.
See Leno kicks off another try at Harvey Milk Day
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/leno-kicks-of…
California gay rights timeline
As gays and lesbians have fought for rights and won elected office, public opinion has shifted. Back in 1977, singer Anita Bryant of Florida was leading a Bible-based campaign against homosexuals, claiming they were sinners and a threat to children and family life. When pollsters asked more than 1,000 Californians – face to face, in their homes – whether they agreed with her, 45 percent said yes. Emotions still run high on the issue, but more Californians now say they know gays and lesbians, and approve of same-sex marriage. The shift is particularly pronounced among residents ages 18 to 29. Following are notable twists and turns in the history of California’s gay rights movement.
1951: The Mattachine Society, one of the first gay advocacy organizations in the United States, is incorporated in Los Angeles to combat oppression of homosexuals.
1955: The Daughters of Bilitis, a national lesbian organization, is founded in San Francisco.
1961: José Sarria runs for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming what is believed to be the nation’s first openly gay candidate for public office.
1975: Assembly Bill 489, by Assemblyman Willie Brown, decriminalizes sexual acts performed in private by consenting adults in California.
1977: The state Legislature overwhelmingly votes to define civil marriage as a contract between a man and a woman. Harvey Milk later becomes the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
1978: Voters defeat Proposition 6, the Briggs initiative, named for Sen. John Briggs, which would have barred gays, lesbians and their supporters from teaching in public schools.
1979: Gov. Jerry Brown issues an executive order barring discrimination against state employees based on sexual orientation.
1984: Gov. George Deukmejian vetoes Assembly Bill 1, the first bill that would have banned job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
1989: Senate Bill 202, by Sen. Diane Watson, requires law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes, including those in which a motivating factor is the victim’s sexual orientation.
1991: Gov. Pete Wilson vetoes Assembly Bill 101, by Assemblyman Terry Friedman, prohibiting discrimination against gays in the workplace.
1992: Wilson signs Friedman’s narrower measure, Assembly Bill 2601, which adds sexual orientation protections to the Labor Code.
1994: Sheila Kuehl is elected to the Assembly, becoming the state Legislature’s first openly lesbian or gay member.
1999: Assembly Bill 26, by Assemblywoman Carole Migden, creates the first statewide domestic partnership registry, allowing the partners of gay state employees to receive health benefits.
1999: Assembly Bill 1001, by Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, adds sexual orientation to anti-discrimination provisions of the state Fair Employment and Housing Act.
1999: Assembly Bill 537, by Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, makes it illegal to harass students in public schools because of sexual orientation.
2000: Voters pass Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage.
2001: Migden’s Assembly Bill 25 greatly expands the rights of domestic partners to include health benefits through private group insurance, death benefits, sick leave, tax deductions and adoption of stepchildren.
2002: The nation’s first legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus is formed in the Legislature. It comprises Assembly members Kuehl, Migden, Jackie Goldberg and Christine Kehoe.
2002: John Laird and Mark Leno are elected to the Assembly, becoming the first openly gay men in the Legislature and members of the LGBT Caucus.
2003: Assembly Bill 205 by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg extends to registered domestic partners nearly all the same rights and responsibilities provided to opposite-sex spouses in California.
2004: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom orders city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. More than 4,000 couples receive licenses and are married before the California Supreme Court orders a halt to the process until its constitutionality can be determined.
2004: Assembly Bill 2208, by Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, bars insurance providers from discriminating against domestic partners.
2005: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes Assembly Bill 849, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, which would have legalized same-sex marriage. Schwarzenegger urged gay rights advocates to wait for court rulings on Proposition 22 or ask the voters to repeal the ban.
2008: In a 4-3 decision May 16, the California Supreme Court rules that the state constitution gives gays and lesbians the right to marry. On Nov. 4, voters approve Proposition 8, the ban that’s now being challenged.
Sources: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; the American Civil Liberties Union; Encyclopedia Britannica; World Book Encyclopedia; Bee news archives.
Bee research/Aurelio Rojas, Pete Basofin and Micaela Massimino.
See California gay rights timeline
Sacramento Bee – CA, USA
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California Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Prop 8 Legal Challenge on March 5
Attorney General, Governor, and nation’s top civil rights groups agree: Invalidate Prop 8
(San Francisco, CA, February 3, 2009) The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in the Proposition 8 legal challenge. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU—with support from civil rights groups, religious organizations, labor unions, and legal scholars—argue that Proposition 8 is invalid because the people of California have established strict safeguards that prohibit the underlying principles of the California Constitution from being changed by a simple majority vote. By taking away a right only from one group, Proposition 8 violates the most basic principle of our government: that all people are entitled to equal treatment under the law.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown is also asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 on the ground that certain fundamental rights, including the right to marry, are inalienable and can not be put up for a popular vote.
On November 10, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that he hoped the Court would overturn Proposition 8. On CNN, he said of Proposition 8′s passage, “It’s unfortunate, obviously, but it’s not the end, I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area.”
On November 19, 2008, the California Supreme Court agreed to hear the legal challenges to Proposition 8 and set an expedited schedule. Briefing in the case was completed on January 21, 2009.
The California Supreme Court must issue its decisions within 90 days of oral argument.
On January 15, 2009, 43 friend-of-the-court briefs urging the Court to invalidate Prop 8 were filed, arguing that Proposition 8 drastically alters the equal protection guarantee in California’s Constitution and that the rights of a minority cannot be eliminated by a simple majority vote. The supporters represent the full gamut of California’s and the nation’s civil rights organizations and legal scholars, as well as California legislators, local governments, bar associations, business interests, labor unions, and religious groups.
In May of 2008, the California Supreme Court held that laws that treat people differently based on their sexual orientation violate the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and that same-sex couples have the same fundamental right to marry as other Californians. Proposition 8 eliminated this fundamental right only for same-sex couples. No other initiative has ever successfully changed the California Constitution to take away a right only from a targeted minority group. Proposition 8 passed by a bare majority of 52 percent on November 4.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU filed this challenge on November 5, representing Equality California, whose members include many same-sex couples who married between June 16 and November 4, 2008, and six same-sex couples who want to marry in California. The California Supreme Court has also agreed to hear two other challenges filed on the same day: one filed by the City and County of San Francisco (joined by Santa Clara County and the City of Los Angeles, and subsequently by Los Angeles County and other local governments); and another filed by a private attorney.
Serving as co-counsel on the case with NCLR, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU are the Law Office of David C. Codell, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
The case is Strauss et al. v. Horton et al. (#S168047). For more information, go to: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme/highprofile/prop8.htm
EQCA works to achieve equality and secure legal protections for LGBT people. To improve the lives of LGBT Californians, EQCA sponsors legislation and coordinates efforts to ensure its passage, lobbies legislators and other policy makers, builds coalitions, develops community strength and empowers individuals and other organizations to engage in the political process. www.eqca.org
The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. www.nclrights.org/overturn8
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. www.lambdalegal.org
The American Civil Liberties Union is America’s foremost advocate of individual rights. It fights discrimination and moves public opinion on LGBT rights through the courts, legislatures and public education. www.aclu.org
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Kevin de León Introduces Bill Would Allow Unmarried Same-Sex Couples to Avoid Property Tax Increases Upon the Death of a Loved One
SACRAMENTO—Assembly Member Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 103 today, which would allow two people, including same-sex couples, who co-own a home together to avoid an unfair property tax increase upon the death of one of the co-owners. The bill is nearly identical to an EQCA-sponsored measure that passed the legislature last year but was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Under existing law, whenever there is a change in home ownership the home is reassessed at its current market-price value, and the new owner must pay property taxes based on that value. Individuals are excluded from this law if they are the spouse, domestic partner, or relative of the deceased. However, this exclusion does not protect co-tenants who are unmarried or unrelated, making same-sex couples particularly vulnerable to losing their homes when a partner dies. AB 103 would protect unmarried couples from the unfair burden of increased taxation when one partner takes over property ownership.
“Without this legislation, surviving partners are subject to unfair property tax reassessments that could force them out of the home they have lived in for years, if not decades,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. “This situation is especially tragic for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender seniors who may not have retirement plans or supportive family members to rely on in times of need. This difficult economy and the high foreclosure rate make matters even worse,” Kors said.
“This is an important step to protect unmarried individuals when they are most vulnerable, after a loved one dies,” stated Assembly Member de León. “Without this legislation surviving partners are faced with the unfair burden of increased taxes on their homes, forcing some people to have to give them up. That is an appalling situation; people who live together and are unmarried, whether by choice or because of the law, should be treated equally to married couples.”
Board of Equalization Vice Chairwoman Betty T. Yee stated, “I applaud Mr. de León and Equality California for championing this important measure. It acknowledges the true diversity of families and households in California and will keep homeowners, particularly elderly individuals, in their homes when their co-owner dies.”
To qualify for the exemption, the bill will require that co-tenants have lived together in the home for at least one year. The bill next moves to the Assembly Rules Committee and will be heard in a policy committee in early Spring.
EQCA works to achieve equality and secure legal protections for LGBT people. To improve the lives of LGBT Californians, EQCA sponsors legislation and coordinates efforts to ensure its passage, lobbies legislators and other policy makers, builds coalitions, develops community strength and empowers individuals and other organizations to engage in the political process. www.eqca.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/kevin-de-len-…
Report: Whitman to run for Calif. governor
(Sacramento, California) Former eBay Inc. chief executive Meg Whitman plans to run for governor of California, according to a person with knowledge of her political aspirations.
The 52-year-old Republican plans to run in 2010 for the seat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is leaving but is not ready to make a formal announcement, …
Meg Whitman, homophobe
Whitman, as we’ve noted, is an oddity among Silicon Valley Republicans, who tend to worry more about lower taxes than hot-button social issues like abortion and gay marriage. In the Republican presidential primaries, she supported Mitt Romney, a Mormon with conservative social views. But it wasn’t until recently that Whitman started talking about her own support for Proposition 8, California’s recently passed ban on same-sex marriages.
Henry Gomez, the former eBay superflack who’s serving as an advisor to Whitman, told me this week that Whitman’s stand was “a personal issue.” Many gay eBay employees agree. They see Whitman’s stance as a deeply personal betrayal. As the CEO of a company in a liberal industry in a liberal region, Whitman never gave a hint that she didn’t value gay and lesbian employees’ relationships. It turns out she was just being politic.
Whitman’s longtime executive assistant, Anita Gaeta, is a lesbian, who owns a house with her partner in San Jose. I tried to contact Gaeta to get her views on the matter, but she did not respond. Gomez tells me Gaeta continues to work for Whitman.
But leave personal feelings aside. As a practical matter, Whitman’s support of Proposition 8 may backfire in fundraising and in the general election. Several current and former eBay executives, including founder Pierre Omidyar, lent their name to a newspaper advertisement opposing Proposition 8. Will they support Whitman’s campaign now? Unlikely.
Her stance could also hurt her former employer’s business. Already, eBay sellers are organizing a boycott because of Whitman’s stance. And no company likes to be drawn into controversial causes. One might think that her handpicked successor, John Donahoe, might prevail on Whitman to moderate her stance for that reason alone.
California prefers its Republicans to be centrists — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, another Proposition 8 opponent, is the best example of this trend. Whitman’s top two contenders, former Representative Tom Campbell and Steve Poizner, the state’s insurance commissioner, also opposed the proposition.
It all seems ill thought out — rather like Whitman’s quixotic legal campaign to reclaim a set of domain names she failed to register before talk of her gubernatorial prospects became public. The sight of a tech billionaire harassing the small businessman who registered them are provoking giggles among California’s Republicans.
Which is probably the right reaction to Whitman’s stance on Proposition 8: not anger, but pity. Insulated by sycophantic advisors and accustomed to fawning coverage from a supine tech press corps, Whitman must not even realize what a joke her would-be political career is.
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Arnie becomes target of conservatives
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposed Proposition 8, has openly hoped that courts will now overturn it and has encouraged opponents to “never give up.”
In the process, he’s ignited a battle within his own party.
Christian conservatives are using him as a foil, to claim that they, not the Republican governor, represent the party base.
That Schwarzenegger is “condoning street protests and supporting judicial activist scams to overturn a popularly approved state constitutional amendment approaches advocacy of anarchy,” said an action alert from the Family Research Council, which urges conservatives to contact Schwarzenegger’s office.
With Republicans out of power in both houses of Congress and the White House, party faithful are focusing on the future of the GOP. It’s a position that’s pitting some Republican moderates – including Schwarzenegger – against social conservatives.
Some GOP leaders believe the social conservatives are holding the party back. Christie Whitman, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bush, co-wrote a Washington Post opinion piece that said the party has been held hostage to social conservatives. She described Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s selection as Arizona Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential candidate as a “cynical sop to social fundamentalists, reinforcing the impression that they control the party, with the party’s consent.”
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Rep. Peter King of New York – all moderate Republicans – each won re-election in a tough year. Each has said the party needed to broaden its base. All three are under attack for saying so.
“What doesn’t work is drawing a harsh ideological line in the sand,” said Collins.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/arnie-becomes…
