Students help AB 606 pass in the Assembly!

GSA Network is pleased to announce that AB 606, the Safe Place to Learn Act, passed out of the California State Assembly yesterday, with a vote of 45-32. The bill now moves on to the Senate.

Student voices have already made an impact on policymakers! We would like to thank the students from Merill F. West High in Tracy, Roosevelt High in Fresno, West Hanford High in Hanford, Santiago High in Garden Grove, and Pacific High in San Bernardino who lobbied their local Assemblymembers in district visits over the last two weeks, encouraging them to vote for AB 606.

The next big lobbying effort will come on Queer Youth Advocacy Day on March 6th! Register, get transportation info, and/or sign up to be a leader at: http://www.gsanetwork.org/qyad.

Below is a press release from Equality California, which is partnering with GSA Network to put on Queer Youth Advocacy Day.

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January 26, 2006

LEGISLATION ADVANCING PROTECTIONS FOR LGBT CALIFORNIANS BACKED BY ASSEMBLY IN QUICK SUCCESSION

Three Bills Sponsored by Equality California Now Go to the State Senate; Session Adjourns in Memory of Betty Berzon

Sacramento, CA - Legislation calling for increased protections of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in California moved closer to passage today as members of the State Assembly voted in support of three bills sponsored by Equality California (EQCA), the state's LGBT civil rights advocacy organization.

Assembly Bill 606, the Safe Place to Learn Act (Levine, D-Van Nuys), a bill that would require school districts and the Department of Education to comply with California's existing laws regarding anti-discrimination in schools, earned a 45-32 vote on the floor of the Assembly. AB 1160 (Lieber, D-San Jose), the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act, addresses the use of the so-called "panic" strategy in trials for brutal crimes, and received a 45-32 vote on the Assembly floor. AB 1207 (Yee, D-San Francisco), a bill that seeks to enhance the Code of Fair Campaign Practices to prevent negative appeals based on sexual orientation, gender and gender identity and other categories, was passed by the Assembly by a 43-29 margin.

"Today, California moved closer to providing even greater protections for LGBT people against discrimination and harassment," said Geoffrey Kors, EQCA Executive Director. "Each of these bills, if passed into law, will add greater might to this state's unparalleled protections for the LGBT community. The legislators who authored these bills are to be commended for their sterling commitment to fairness and justice. We expect these bills to move through the State Senate, and on to the Governor's desk."
The passage of the LGBT-rights bills today was particularly meaningful, as the Assembly adjourned in memory of the pioneering lesbian psychotherapist and writer Betty Berzon, who died this week in Los Angeles at the age of 78.

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empowering youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools

Carolyn Laub
Executive Director
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
160 14th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
ph: 415.552.4229
fax: 415.552.4729
carolyn [at] gsanetwork.org
http://www.gsanetwork.org/
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