FINALLY: Gay Rights Bill Passes California Legislature
Legislation designed to prevent discrimination against LGBT individuals in political campaigns is one critical step away from becoming law -- a signature by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The State Senate approved Assembly Bill 866 Monday, authored by Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/Daly City) on a 21-12 vote. The governor now has 12 days to sign or veto AB 866.
The legislation, sponsored by Equality California, 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.
"I urge the governor to immediately sign this bill into law so we can move one step closer to ending anti-gay rhetoric in political campaigns," said Speaker pro Tem Yee. "Candidates should not discriminate and victimize the LGBT community for political purposes. Fostering campaigns that create fear and intimidation only incite a potentially dangerous situation for the LGBT community."
Currently, existing law establishes a Code of Fair Campaign Practices to which a candidate may voluntarily subscribe and provides a pledge by which the candidate declares that he or she will not use or permit any appeal to negative prejudice based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical health status, or age. This Code of Fair Campaign Practices and a copy of the Elections Code provisions are required to be provided to candidates by the Registrar of Voters at the of a declaration of candidacy, nomination papers, or any other paper evidencing an intention to be a candidate for public office are issued.
Anti-gay rhetoric, which often comes in the form of political hate messages, has been 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.
In 2003, when San Francisco became ground zero in the struggle over same-sex marriage rights, incidents of violence rose over 14 percent in the city.
"Sidelining ethics and integrity to garner votes is simply bad politics," said EQCA executive director Geoffrey Kors. "We cannot allow a few bad apples to hijack political campaigns and really cheapen the voting process with homophobia and anti-gay prejudice. Candidates must live up to a higher standard willing to represent all constituencies and communities."
In 1996, then Assemblymember Shelia Kuehl introduced nearly identical legislation (AB 2283), which failed in its first hearing on a 3-4 vote. This year's AB 866 has received far greater support; in fact, two Republicans joined 45 Democrats when the bill passed the Assembly in April.
"When I run for office, I want to be sure that I am judged on my knowledge, experience and integrity, and not viewed on stereotypes or hate," said Marina Gatto, a 16-year-old LGBT rights activist. "AB 866 is a common sense measure; it is an important and vital step towards equality, and it deserves the support of every legislator as well as everyone in our community."
via: Out in America
The legislation, sponsored by Equality California, 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.
"I urge the governor to immediately sign this bill into law so we can move one step closer to ending anti-gay rhetoric in political campaigns," said Speaker pro Tem Yee. "Candidates should not discriminate and victimize the LGBT community for political purposes. Fostering campaigns that create fear and intimidation only incite a potentially dangerous situation for the LGBT community."
Currently, existing law establishes a Code of Fair Campaign Practices to which a candidate may voluntarily subscribe and provides a pledge by which the candidate declares that he or she will not use or permit any appeal to negative prejudice based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical health status, or age. This Code of Fair Campaign Practices and a copy of the Elections Code provisions are required to be provided to candidates by the Registrar of Voters at the of a declaration of candidacy, nomination papers, or any other paper evidencing an intention to be a candidate for public office are issued.
Anti-gay rhetoric, which often comes in the form of political hate messages, has been 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.
In 2003, when San Francisco became ground zero in the struggle over same-sex marriage rights, incidents of violence rose over 14 percent in the city.
"Sidelining ethics and integrity to garner votes is simply bad politics," said EQCA executive director Geoffrey Kors. "We cannot allow a few bad apples to hijack political campaigns and really cheapen the voting process with homophobia and anti-gay prejudice. Candidates must live up to a higher standard willing to represent all constituencies and communities."
In 1996, then Assemblymember Shelia Kuehl introduced nearly identical legislation (AB 2283), which failed in its first hearing on a 3-4 vote. This year's AB 866 has received far greater support; in fact, two Republicans joined 45 Democrats when the bill passed the Assembly in April.
"When I run for office, I want to be sure that I am judged on my knowledge, experience and integrity, and not viewed on stereotypes or hate," said Marina Gatto, a 16-year-old LGBT rights activist. "AB 866 is a common sense measure; it is an important and vital step towards equality, and it deserves the support of every legislator as well as everyone in our community."
via: Out in America
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at 11:57 AM.
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ByThis is absolutely great! It also touches on something that I don't think is talked about very much within the GLBT community- The fact that we need to be spending time on educational campaigns and passing legislation like this to help take Gay Rights out of the "wedge issue" category. I believe that if we formed a strategy around this during the off year (in Oregon) then in 2007 any legislative mountains we would climb would not be nearly as steep. (That and electing good candidates).
By
I think that it is talked about and will soon be implemented. We'll see...
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