California Senate to Vote Next Week on Four LGBT Rights Bills!

EQUALITY CALIFORNIA

Action Alert!

California Senate to Vote Next Week on Four LGBT Rights Bills!

August 11, 2005

Next week, the California Legislature will return from summer recess for four more
weeks before ending this year's session. This means that we will only have four more
weeks to get our remaining pieces of legislation passed.

Thanks to your efforts, EQCA's sponsored Assembly Bill (AB) 849, the Religious
Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, will be heard in the Senate
Appropriations Committee as early as this Monday, August 15th. If passed, the
marriage equality bill will move to full Senate and Assembly floor votes very
quickly.

Next week, the full State Senate will be voting on three important LGBT rights
bills. They include a resolution to ban the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
policy (SJR 11), the Code of Fair Campaign Practices Bill (AB 866), and an amendment
to the Unruh Civil Rights Act (AB 1400). It is important that the Senators hear from
you by email.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW! If you are registered in our advocacy center, you can simply
reply to this message and emails will automatically be sent to the selected
legislators (see sample letter below). If you are not yet registered in our Action
Center, go to http://www.eqca.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=9oINKWMCF&b=35891
to TAKE ACTION!

THESE FOUR BILLS WILL BE VOTED ON NEXT WEEK:

* Assembly Bill 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act,
authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Assembly Speaker Fabian
Núñez (D-Los Angeles), and supported by more than 30 other co-authors. The Religious
Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would grant equal marriage rights to
same-sex couples and affirm the religious freedom of all Californians

* Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 11, authored by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San
Diego), calls on Congress and the President to end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" policy by enacting House Resolution (HR) 1059, the Military Readiness
Enhancement Act, authored by Representative Marty Meehan (D- Massachusetts).

* Assembly Bill 866 by Assembly Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) would
prohibit the use of any negative appeal based on prejudice against LGBT people by
candidates or campaign committees who sign the voluntary pledge provided for in the
Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

* Assembly Bill 1400 by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) amends the Unruh
Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act) to clarify that people are protected from
discrimination regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital
status.

Please take a moment to email your Senator in support of AB 849, SJR 11, AB 866, and
AB 1400.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW! If you are registered in our Action Center, reply to this
email. If you are not yet registered, go to
http://www.eqca.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=9oINKWMCF&b=35891 to TAKE ACTION!


Thank you for supporting equality!

Warmly,

Steve Hansen
Legislative Affairs Associate Director
Equality California


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We Cannot Do It Without You!

EQCA is taking action in the Legislature and throughout the state to defend against
attacks on LGBT civil rights, while moving toward our goal of full equality for all.
We are now asking for your support. Our work is possible only because of people like
you. Please join Equality California today, renew your membership, or make a special
gift.

Please Make a Donation or Become a Member Today! http://www.eqca.org/joinrenew

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more...http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40337&ct=1286851


AUGUST NEWSLETTER NOW ON-LINE!
EQUALITY UPDATE | AUGUST 2005

The latest Equality California Newsletter is now online for your reading pleasure.
We try to keep you informed on legislative hearings, events and actions around the
state, often in your own back yard.

more...http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40337&ct=1279325


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Sample Letter to Elected Officials


(Month) (Day) (Year)

From: (Sender Name)
(Sender Address)

RE: Support AB 849 (Leno), SJR 11 (Kehoe), AB 866 (Yee), and AB 1400 (Laird)

(Title) (Recipient's Name)

I am writing as a member of Equality California to urge you to support four of our
important sponsored pieces of LGBT Civil Rights legislation -- AB 849, SJR 11, AB
866, and AB 1400.

First, I ask you to support AB 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage
Protection Act, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Assembly
Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles), and supported by more than 30 other co-authors
which would grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples and affirm the religious
freedom of all Californians.

According to a study co-authored by the Williams Project, a think tank at UCLA
School of Law, and the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) at
the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, passage of this marriage equality bill will
have a significant positive impact on California's state budget, a potential gain of
up to $30 million each year. Additionally, according to the study, California would
benefit from a boom in tourism. The study concludes that if marriage equality were
permanently offered, each year California would benefit from over $100 million in
increased business revenues --generating over $7 million in sales tax revenues for
the state.

I also encourage you to support Equality California-sponsored SJR 11 by Senator
Christine Kehoe.

SJR 11 calls on Congress and the President to repeal the discriminatory "Don't Ask,
Don't Tell" policy by enacting HR 1059, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of
2005, by Representative Marty Meehan (D-MA). AB 866 adds sexual orientation and
gender identity to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

In the decade since the implementation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the Armed Forces
have discharged nearly 10,000 able-bodied and willing servicemembers because of
their sexual orientation. Aside from being an egregious violation of our
constitutional notions of liberty and justice, the exclusion of lesbian and gay
service members is a true menace to our national security.

According to the February 2005 Government Accountability Office report, the partial
cost of this blight on our national defense is approximately $190 million. This
figure only accounts for recruiting and re-training replacements for the thousands
of capable and devoted servicemembers who were discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell."

Also, I encourage you to support Equality California-sponsored AB 866 by Assembly
Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee.

Anti-gay rhetoric, which often comes in the form of political hate messages, is
directly connected to violence against gay and lesbian individuals. Incidents of
violence against LGBT people have peaked in national elections years, such as in
2004, during the presidential campaign, in which lesbian and gay issues played an
unprecedented role at both the national and local levels.

The Code of Fair Campaign Practices was adopted by the Legislature with the purpose
of encouraging candidates "to discuss issues instead of untruths or distortions" and
"to abide by basic principles of decency, honesty and fair play."

AB 866 puts candidates and campaign committees on notice for using anti-gay rhetoric
and sends the message that these kinds of campaign tactics are simply unacceptable.
This legislation encourages a discussion of issues instead of the anti-gay
distortions and untruths that are used to divide voters.

Finally, I urge you to support EQCA-sponsored AB 1400 by Assemblymember John Laird.

The Unruh Act explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, disability or medical condition. Courts have
held that the categories listed in the law are merely examples and that the Unruh
Act should be interpreted broadly to prohibit arbitrary discrimination, including
discrimination based on personal characteristics, geographical origin, physical
attributes, and individual beliefs. The Unruh Act applies to all business
establishments, which provide services, goods, or accommodations to the public.

By explicitly listing sexual orientation, and marital status and defining the term
sex to include gender identity in the Unruh Act and related provisions, two purposes
will be served: 1) these laws will be more consistent with other nondiscrimination
laws in California such as the Fair Employment and Housing Act; and 2) it will
prevent unnecessary litigation by making it clearer that that these specific
categories are covered by the Unruh Act and related provisions.

Please support these important LGBT civil rights bills as they move forward.

Sincerely,
(Sender's Name)