October 1, 2010
Dear Daniel, Equality California’s 72nd and arguably most important sponsored piece of legislation passed by the Legislature was signed into law yesterday by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  SB 543 -- Mental Health Services for At-Risk Youth -- is an historic bill that allows youth 12 to 17 years old to receive mental health care without requiring their parents’ consent. LGBT youth across California who are fearful that their families could become abusive or kick them out if they come out -- or refuse to consent to their obtaining mental health services -- will now be able get the help they need, before it’s too late. Equality California and Senator Mark Leno made this bill a priority to address the hostile environment too many of California's young people find themselves dealing with everyday, the kind of environment that has led to bullying, hate crimes and several recent tragic and heartbreaking suicides. This bill is one critical step to provide support for LGBT and questioning youth. But we have a long way to go to end the climate of terror that those who oppose equality and promote hatred have created. Equality California is already working on new legislation to provide greater protection for LGBT youth. Please help us continue making California a safer place for all LGBT people. The governor also signed AB 2199 (Lowenthal) – Repeal of Discriminatory Code; AB 2700 (Ma) – Separation Equity Act; and AB 2055 (De La Torre) – Unemployment Benefits Equality. These critical bills advance equality and end discriminatory treatment for many LGBT Californians, and we are grateful to the bill’s authors for their leadership and to the Governor for signing these bills into law. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed AB 633 (Ammiano), the LGBT Prisoner Safety bill, leaving corrective institutions free to continue their outrageous policy of placing LGBT prisoners in solitary confinement as a first step in supposedly protecting them from rape and other violence. He also vetoed AB 1680 (Saldaña), the Hate Crimes Protection Act, which would have prohibited contracts requiring mandatory arbitration of hate crimes, and SB 906 (Leno), the Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act, which would have affirmed that clergy are not required to solemnize any marriage that goes against their faith, taking an argument away from opponents of marriage equality. We will continue working to enact these protections through legislative and administrative means. Your support can help us enact these and other critical protections moving forward. This was our busiest legislative year ever. In addition to the Equality California bills that passed the Legislature, six resolutions passed that have become California’s official policy. These resolutions include support for repealing the Defense of Marriage Act; overturning Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; passing the Uniting American Families Act; lifting the Food and Drug Administration ban on accepting blood donations from gay and bisexual men; urging the 2020 Census to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity; and requesting the IRS to accept joint returns from same-sex married and registered domestic partner couples. Our work would not have been as successful without the support from our members who helped elect fair-minded legislators; who called, wrote letters and emails, and signed petitions to their elected officials to help us get these bills passed; and, of course, donated the money that funds our legislative work in Sacramento. With your support, we will continue to change the laws and policies in California until we achieve full equality and acceptance for every LGBT person. Please give today to support this work. We have much left to accomplish. Your support and advocacy are more critical than ever to achieving full equality. In solidarity, Geoff Kors Executive Director Equality California	Support Our Work! Visit our Legislative Center to learn about all the bills we've passed this year. Then, please give today to keep our state moving towards full equality.
Connect with us on  Facebook and  Twitter Equality California is dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians. Our work depends on individual financial contributions. Donate now using our secure website or download a donation form to send via fax or mail. Donations to EQCA support our political work and are therefore not tax-deductible as charitable contributions.