LGBT Prisoner Safety Act Passes Assembly with Bipartisan Support

Bill Sponsored by EQCA and Introduced by Assemblymember Ammiano Now Moves to Senate

Sacramento – The California State Assembly passed the LGBT Prisoner Safety Act, AB 382, today by an overwhelming margin of 64-9. The bill garnered significant bipartisan support. Sponsored by Equality California (EQCA) and introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D – San Francisco), the bill is designed to prevent violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the state prison system. The bill received more Republican votes than any other piece of legislation sponsored by EQCA.

“The California Assembly sent a powerful message today that all Californians deserve protection from violence,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. “This vital bill seeks to end abuse and assault against LGBT prisoners, ensuring they receive equal and fair protection under the law.”

According to a recent study from the Cali¬fornia Department of Corrections and Re¬habilitation, 67 percent of LGBT inmates report being sexually assaulted by another inmate, a rate 15 times higher than the overall prison population.

By amending the Sexual Abuse in Detention Elimination Act (SADEA) of 2005 to include sexual orientation and gender identity on the list of factors for consideration when classifying and housing prisoners, the legislation promotes safety for and prevents assault against LGBT people in the prison system. The list of factors currently includes age, gender, type of offense, and prior time served.

“All people deserve basic protections – including those serving time in our state prisons,” Assemblymember Ammiano said upon introducing the bill. “No prisoner should fear for his or her life or be the target of abuse because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The bill developed following a Senate Public Safety Committee meeting held in San Francisco this past December and chaired by Senator and former Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles). The meeting, which was sponsored by EQCA along with Just Detention International, the Transgender Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Transgender Gender-Variant and Intersex Justice Project, exposed the dire issues facing LGBT people in California prisons in order to produce concrete solutions. The LGBT Prisoner Safety Act is an important step toward ensuring the safety of this highly vulnerable population. Last month, the bill passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee unanimously by a 7-0 vote.

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Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/lgbt-prisoner…

California Assembly passes legislation that extends protections for the LGBT community

This week the California Assembly passed legislation that extends protections for the LGBT community with the most support of any EQCA-sponsored bill in history.

In a legislature that votes mostly on party lines on social issues, your direct grassroots action with EQCA has resulted in increased support for our legislation—proving that equality is not a partisan issue.
The bill, which will require prisons to include sexual orientation and gender identity when identifying prisoners who need protection, passed by an overwhelming margin of 65 to 9. 14 of the 29 Republican members voted for the legislation and 6 members abstained from the vote.

This recent victory is just one result of the hard work we have done together to gain more and more support for LGBT equality. Through your countless emails and lobby visits over the years you have shown all members of the Legislature the vital importance of LGBT equality. Members have told me personally that hearing stories from their constituents has only increased their support for EQCA’s legislation.

All of EQCA’s current legislation continues to pass their committees, including yesterday’s Assembly Judiciary Committee vote to make changing one’s gender identification more accessible for transgender persons and last week’s bipartisan vote in the Senate Education Committee to designate May 22 as Harvey Milk Day.

And this recent activity is evidence that the arc of equality always bends toward progress.