Amy Patton

Three key pieces of California legislation that were tabled last year for various reasons will see the floor in 2020.  These bills – SB 132, SB 145 and SB 201 were all introduced by openly gay Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and were co-sponsored by Equality California. SB 132, the Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act, aims to improve the living conditions for incarcerated transgender person. SB 132 will require that incarcerated transgender people in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) be classified and housed based on their sense of health, safety and gender identity — rather than the […]

California earned top marks in Equality California’s recently released annual state legislative scorecard for 2019 Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, demonstrating support in the California Legislature for LGBTQ civil rights and social justice. Sixty-one of the 80 members — including two Republicans — received perfect scores in the Assembly. Twenty-six out of 40 senators earned perfect marks, too. Scores were based on six floor votes and a committee vote in the Assembly, and eleven floor votes in the Senate. Governor Gavin Newsom also scored 100 percent in his first year in office. He signed all five bills […]

The campers at  Brave Trails are told, above all else, they get a “second family” while participating in this Los Angeles-based LGBTQ+ youth summer camp.  Brave Trails blossomed out of the love that founders Jessica and Kayla Weissbuch’s share for summer camp and queer youth mentorship.  “With the skills learned at camp, our campers will be primed to thrive in their schools, workplace and personal lives,” Jessica said. “In addition, our campers will have the knowledge and confidence to be more impactful leaders and implement innovative social change in their communities.” The camp’s program focuses on four key elements: Leadership, […]

HIV preventative medication could become more easily accessible thanks to Senate Bill 159 –  a piece of legislature that authorize pharmacists to provide pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to patients without a prescription. – Advertisement – Last week, the bill who was authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Todd Gloria’s (D-San Diego), passed out of the Senate Business and Professions Committee by a vote of 6-0. It will now head to the Senate Health Committee for a vote. The legislation also prohibits insurance companies from requiring patients to obtain prior authorization before using their insurance benefits to obtain […]

Hours before a West Hollywood City Council meeting to discuss options regarding Mayor John Duran involvement in the City, Duran announced his resignation as mayor via Facebook. He said that he will still maintain his council seat until the end of his term in November.- Advertisement – “I am handing the mayor’s gavel to my friend John D’Amico as the mayor pro tem to fill the remaining two months of my mayor’s term,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “I am not resigning from council and will complete this term which expires in November of 2020.” Duran said that he […]

A crowed of over 100 people showed up to a rally outside the home of prominent LGBTQ+ political activist and campaign doner Ed Buck Monday night after a second gay black man was found dead in Buck’s West Hollywood apartment earlier that morning. Buck has not been charged with anything for either deaths. An investigation into the death is being led by Detective Q. Rodriguez of the department’s Homicide Bureau. The identity of the dead man has not been revealed. In July 2017, 26-year-old Gemmel Moore was found dead in Buck’s apartment due to an overdose on methamphetamine. Buck’s lawyer, Seymour […]