State

/

Santa Clara County Hires Staff for Unique New Office of LGBTQ Affairs

 

Santa Clara County, the most populous county in the San Francisco Bay Area region, and one of the most affluent counties in the United States has filled two full-time positions for its newly-created Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The county is only the third local government agency—and the first county in the nation—to have an office exclusively dedicated to serving the LGBTQ community. The new staff include Maribel Martinez for the position of manager and Ashley Scarborough for the position of management analyst. Both will assume their new roles Jan. 19.

“The establishment of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs marks another important step on the road to full equality,” said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who led the effort behind the office’s creation. “I am thrilled to see it open soon, and I am proud of Santa Clara County for continuing to be leader for LGBTQ rights and services.”

The only other similar offices in the United States are the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs in the city of Philadelphia and the Office of LGBT Affairs in Washington, D.C.

“While our country and this County have come a long way in recent years, it is clear we can be doing more to serve LGBTQ individuals and ensure improved outcomes for this community,” said Yeager, “I am confident that the Office of LGBTQ Affairs will get us closer to that end.”

According to the County the primary functions of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs will be:

• Training: Train County staff and community stakeholders on LGBTQ issues as they relate to clients, residents, and employees.

• Individualized, Case-specific Assistance: Offer guidance to County departments seeking to fairly and properly serve LGBTQ individuals.

• Cross-departmental Best Practices: Ensure all County departments are following best practices when it comes to treatment of LGBTQ clients, residents, and employees.

• External Relations: Represent the County to local, state and national government agencies, school districts and nonprofit organizations on LGBTQ issues.

• Communications: Develop the Office’s communication strategies and efforts, including a website, pamphlets, and directories, as well as coordinate with the Office of Public Affairs on media inquiries.

• Resource Development: Identify gaps in services to LGBTQ residents and develop resources to address them.

• Community Engagement and Mobilization: Play a role in promoting and collaborating on LGBTQ community events, including those that foster dialogue and increase access to services for the most disenfranchised members of the LGBTQ community.

• Measuring Progress: Develop an evaluation metric to determine the effectiveness of the Office on each of the above responsibilities.

/

San Diego Cop Fatally Shoots Gay Man; His Third Shooting Since 2013

 

Joshua Adam Sisson

Joshua Adam Sisson

A San Diego police officer who fatally shot a gay man on Friday has killed three people in less than three years.

The victim, 30-year-old Joshua Adam Sisson (pictured), was allegedly holding a large kitchen knife to his boyfriend’s neck before fleeing the scene of the domestic dispute.

Officer Richard Butera caught up with the man on Sixth Avenue in San Diego‘s Hillcrest neighborhood.

Despite the officer’s request, Sisson didn’t stop running, instead pointing the knife at Butera “in an aggressive stance.”

The office claims he feared for his safety and shot Sisson once in the chest.

He died at a hospital on Saturday.

Sisson, who was wanted for a parole violation, was employed at Camp Pendleton and studied computer science at California College San Diego.

His mother has launched a GoFundMe page to have his remains returns to Pennsylvania for burial.

“He was only 30,” his mother writes. “Contrary to the media reports he was a wonderful young man and overcame many obstacles…I need help bringing him home to Pennsylvania and giving him the burial he deserves.”

/

Civil Rights Coalition Ready to Launch Education Campaign Following Failed Anti-Transgender Ballot Push

A coalition of California civil rights and LGBT organizations said today that supporters of a proposed anti-transgender ballot initiative announced that they have failed to submit the signatures necessary to qualify it for the November, 2016 ballot.“Privacy for All”, the group behind the failed measure, needed to submit 365,880 valid signatures to the California Secretary of State’s office to qualify for the ballot. “Privacy for All” is backed by the right-wing, Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute and other supporters of Proposition 8.

“All Californians – no matter their race, age, gender, or sexual orientation – should have the same freedom to support their families and go about their lives without fear of discrimination,” said Kris Hayashi, executive director of Transgender Law Center. “This initiative was a poorly veiled attack on transgender people that sought to undermine that freedom and single out for harassment anyone who doesn’t meet stereotypes of what it looks like to be male or female. Today Californians have made clear these types of discriminatory attacks on transgender people and our families, communities, and neighborhoods have no place in our state.”

The so-called “Personal Privacy Protection Act” would have prohibited transgender people from using facilities in government buildings and requiring the government to monitor bathroom use. Supporters of similar efforts elsewhere fought ugly, divisive and deceitful campaigns that preyed on voters’ ignorance of what it means to be transgender.

“Opponents of LGBT equality use ignorance and fear as a weapon against the transgender community,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “We know from our research that many people don’t really even know what ‘transgender’ means. While our opponents failed to gather enough support this time, we know they will be back. Through our public education campaign, we will educate the public about transgender people, the challenges they face and the contributions they make.”

“Having lost the battle for marriage equality and having failed to qualify a similar ballot initiative several years ago, anti-LGBT extremists have failed once again in their attempt to legislate discrimination,” said Dave Garcia, Director of Public Policy and Community Building at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “I’m relieved they couldn’t get the relatively low number of signatures they needed, but even if they had, I’m confident we would have defeated this measure. No one should fear harassment, interrogation or a lawsuit simply for using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.”

“The people of California saw our opponents’ campaign for what it was — a blatant effort to undermine the rights and freedoms of transgender people. By categorically rejecting such discrimination, Californians have affirmed their support for the equal rights and dignity of all people. We, like the people of California, are committed to continue working to ensure that cruel and senseless efforts against our fellow community members are always stopped in their tracks,” said Chad Griffin, President of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

To educate California voters about their transgender neighbors and to forestall similar, future efforts to target them at the ballot box, Equality California and the Transgender Law Center are leading a separate statewide public education campaign to combat widespread public misunderstanding about transgender and gender nonconforming people and the issues they face. The separate campaign includes other LGBT and civil rights organizations as well as groups serving communities of color and the faith community. The effort is independent of work on any political or legislative campaign and is aimed at creating understanding and acceptance of transgender Californians through research and education.

“Discriminatory ballot measures, and the campaigns they engender, serve the interests of no one except those who would demonize and exclude, to the detriment of California,” stated Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel. “MALDEF hopes that this failure will discourage any others seeking to sow division within our state.”

The coalition against the ballot initiative consists of the American Civil Liberties Union of California, Equality California, the Human Rights Campaign, Los Angeles LGBT Center, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and Transgender Law Center, as well as a steering committee of organizations representing diverse communities throughout California.

/

Celebrated Openly Gay Air Force Officer Among 6 Killed In Afghanistan

An openly gay Air Force officer who grew up in the Bay Area was one of six American troops killed in a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan on Monday.

Facebook postings on Tuesday by friends and family of Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen mourned her death on Monday and sent condolences to her wife Heather and son Jacob, who live near Washington, D.C.

“We do find comfort in knowing that Heather and Jacob are no longer in the shadows and will be extended the rights and protections due any American military family as they move through this incredibly difficult period in their lives,” said the posting from Military Partners and Families Coalition.

Vorderbruggen was celebrated for marrying shortly after the military repealed its policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Her marriage couldn’t have happened without the repeal, which was signed five years ago.

A Department of Defense spokesman said the names of all the American troops killed in the attack would be released later on Tuesday.

Six American troops, including Vorderbruggen, were killed Monday when a suicide bomber on a motorbike struck their patrol in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces this year.

Bagram, around 40 km (25 miles) north of Kabul, is one of the main bases for the 9,800 U.S. troops left in Afghanistan after international troops ended combat operations last year.

The victims included New York City Detective Joseph Lemm, a 15-year veteran of the NYPD who also volunteered in the U.S. Air National Guard and was on his third deployment to war zones.

“Detective Joseph Lemm epitomized the selflessness we can only strive for: putting his country and city first,” New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement.

Mayor Bill de Blasio sent his condolences to Lemm’s wife and two children, saying in a statement they were among so many American families this holiday season “who have an empty chair at the dinner table because one of their loved ones went off to defend our country and never came back.”

Lemm was deployed twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq, Bratton said.

The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the strike, remains resilient 14 years after the start of U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan. It has ramped up its attacks this year, inflicting heavier casualties on Afghan security forces.

Just last week, the Pentagon warned of deteriorating security in Afghanistan and assessed the performance of Afghan security forces as “uneven and mixed.”

More than 2,300 U.S. troops have died in the Afghan war since the 2001 invasion, but the pace of U.S. deaths has fallen off sharply since the end of formal U.S. combat and a drawdown of American forces.

Pentagon data showed there have been 10 so-called “hostile” deaths of U.S. service members in Afghanistan this year. There have been 10 non-hostile deaths, largely from aircraft crashes.

/

California Judge Rules Sex Discrimination Includes Sexual Orientation

A federal judge in California has ruled that the nation’s ban on sex discrimination in education includes a ban on sexual orientation discrimination, in a ruling thought to be the first of its kind, according to Think Progress and Buzzfeed.

In the case of lesbians Layana White and Haley Videckis vs. Pepperdine University,  U.S. District Court Judge Dean Pregerson decided last week “ that sexual orientation discrimination is not a category distinct from sex or gender discrimination.”

The women, who are in a relationship, sued the school, claiming they were mistreated by their basketball coach at the Christian university due to their sexual orientation.

“I was being targeted and some of the treatment, I thought, was just completely unfair,” Videckis told Los Angeles TV station KABC earlier this year. The coach said “lesbianism isn’t tolerated here. Lesbianism is real and a big problem in women’s basketball. And I directly remember the date of that meeting because it just stood out to me that someone could use that word in such a derogatory way,” Videckis told the station.

According to legal filings, the women were repeatedly interrogated by their coach as to whether there were any lesbian or bisexual basketball players on their team. They were asked whether they slept with their beds pushed together, whether they went on vacations together and asked to provide gynecological records.

They filed a lawsuit against the school alleging discrimination in 2014. White claimed the stress of discrimination caused her to suffer from severe depression and even attempt suicide.

Students at the school were supportive of the couple, staging a protest against the university. In a statement, the University said: “We take allegations of this kind, and they are only allegations, very seriously.” However, the judge’s ruling came after the university attempted to have several of the charges against it dismissed, claiming Title IX law did not apply to sexual orientation discrimination.

The judge disagreed. “Claims of sexual orientation discrimination are gender stereotype or sexual discrimination claims,” he wrote.

This “appears to be the first time a federal judge has issued such a ruling as it pertains to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the federal ban on sex discrimination in education,” wrote BuzzFeed’s Chris Geidner.

/

Equality California Applauds Introduction of Transgender Rights Resolution by Congressman Mike Honda

On December 11, Congressman Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley), Chair of the Transgender Equality Task Force, introduced a resolution, “Expressing Support for Transgender Acceptance”, to promote transgender acceptance, recognize the challenges facing the transgender community, and improve safety and opportunities for transgender people.“This is another much-needed step in our fight to ensure that the transgender community’s voice is represented in Congress. The transgender community faces widespread bullying, harassment, and violence, and these individuals do not yet have sufficient legal means of protection from such discrimination in many states. We cannot achieve equality without acceptance. This resolution will take one step toward greater acceptance the transgender community. We must work to address the challenges and risks that transgender individuals face on a daily basis in their places of work, education, and housing, and ensure that their individual rights are understood and respected,” said Congressman Honda.

“The statistics hide the murders never reported, the hate crimes that went uncounted because police or family members did not respect the victim’s gender identity, and the transgender youth and adults, who, facing hostility from their families and communities, took their own lives,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. This resolution would send a signal of support and affirmation to those among us who are still fighting a desperate battle not just for civil rights, but also to simply stay alive. Equality California is leading, together with the Transgender Law Center, a groundbreaking coalition to educate Californians about their transgender neighbors, and we’re grateful to have an ally like Rep. Honda in Congress.”

In November, Congressman Honda, along with members of the House LGBT Equality Caucus, hosted the first-ever congressional Forum on Violence Against Transgender Individuals. Honda chairs the Transgender Equality Task Force, the first congressional task force devoted only to issues impacting the transgender community, which he launched last month in the U.S. House of Representatives. In September, the congressman introduced a house resolution to protect transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual congressional employees from employment discrimination. He is also the founding member and chair of the Congressional Caucus to End Bullying.

Right-wing activists are trying to qualify an anti-transgender initiative for the November, 2016 ballot. The so-called “Personal Privacy Protection Act” is one of an increasing number of bills brought forward by right-wing activists across the country that target the transgender community. It would go even farther than efforts in other states, prohibiting transgender people from using facilities in government buildings and requiring the government to monitor bathroom use. It would also allow anyone offended by the presence of an individual in a restroom to sue that person for a $4,000 in damages, as well as attorney’s fees. Government analysts say the measure could cost California millions of dollars every year in legal expenses and lost federal funding.

/

Equality California Joins Supreme Court Brief Calling for Restoration of Immigration Relief

Together with a group of other labor, civil rights and service provider organizations, Equality California has submitted an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case seeking to lift a federal injunction blocking implementation of programs awarding temporary legal residency status to limited classes of undocumented immigrants.

The programs, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), would give between four and five-million undocumented immigrants an opportunity to apply for a permit to temporarily avoid deportation.  President Obama announced an expansion of the programs last year, prompting a lawsuit by the state of Texas and 25 other states claiming that Obama had overstepped his executive authority.  The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a temporary injunction against implementation of the expanded programs earlier this year; the U.S. Department of Justice last week filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case to remove the injunction.

The amicus brief, filed today, calls on the Court to hear the administration’s case, and was signed by Equality California, SEIU, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and a broad coalition of 224 civil rights, labor and service provider organizations from across the country.

“We represent the interests of LGBT people and are committed to advancing social justice in all the communities that LGBT people are a part of,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “These programs directly impact millions of people who have grown up here, paid taxes here and raised their families here – including hundreds of thousands of LGBT people in California alone.  Bringing undocumented immigrants into the full social, economic, and civic life of our communities is not only just and fair, it simply makes economic sense.”

If the Court accepts the DOJ’s petition, it will hear the case early next year, with a decision likely by June, 2016.

Equality California estimates that there are as many as 250,000 LGBT undocumented immigrants in California. EQCA leads a collaborative of LGBT organizations in California focused on improving the lives of undocumented Californians, including those who would qualify from expanded DACA and DAPA.

 

/

Daniel Kaufman Among San Bernardino Shooting Victims

 

Daniel Kaufman, 42, of Rialto, who ran the coffee shop in building 3 at the Inland Regional Center, is among those who were killed in Wednesday’s shootings, according to social media posts and news media.

“I am sad to report that Daniel has been positively identified as one of the fatalities at the scene,” Ryan Reyes, Kaufman’s boyfriend, posted on Facebook. “Thank you all for your love and support. I love you Daniel, and I will forever miss you.”

Reyes told the Los Angeles Times that he dropped Kaufman at work Wednesday’s morning and they exchanged text messages.

Reyes, also of Rialto, spoke to reporters Wednesday, and said it took him four and a half hours to find out his boyfriend was hospitalized.

Reyes said that initial reports were that Kaufman survived, but he learned Thursday morning that it wasn’t the case.

shootings-facebook-wednes

/

Equality California Observes World AIDS Day Posted on December 1, 2015

Today, the 28th annual observance of World AIDS Day, Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur issued the following statement:“This is a time of great promise.  For the first time in the history of the AIDS epidemic, treatments are available that can stem or even stop the spread of HIV.  Living with the virus itself is now a manageable long term condition rather than a debilitating and fatal disease.

But remember that for far too many people in the LGBT community, including in communities of color and around the world, that promise is still far off.  In the United States, transgender women are an estimated 49 times more likely to have HIV than the general population, and more than a fifth of them are, in fact, living with the virus.  The transmission rate in young gay men increased a staggering 132 percent between 2001 and 2011.  Millions around the world still have no access to life-saving therapies, including those without health coverage here at home.  And transmission of HIV is still a felony criminal offense in California and across the country, stigmatizing people with HIV and treating them more harshly than people with other communicable diseases.

Equality California is committed to the health and wellbeing of everyone in the LGBT community and ending stigma attached to having HIV.  We are working with a coalition of other LGBT and civil rights organizations to modernize laws that unfairly target people with HIV.  We are educating our community about the benefits and availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which promises to end transmission of HIV.  And we are working to bring health coverage to everyone in California’s LGBT community, regardless of immigration status, so that each of us has an equal chance at a long, healthy life.

###

Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization dedicated to creating a fair and just society. Our mission is to achieve and maintain full and lasting equality, acceptance, and social justice for all people in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. Our mission includes advancing the health and well-being of LGBT Californians through direct healthcare service advocacy and education. Through electoral, advocacy, education and mobilization programs, we strive to create a broad and diverse alliance of LGBT people, educators, government officials, communities of color and faith, labor, business, and social justice communities to achieve our goals. www.eqca.org

/

Equality California Endorses Four Legislative Candidates in Priority Races for 2016 Elections

Equality California announced today that it has made endorsements in four of its priority races for the California Legislature – San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener for Senate District 11 (San Francisco), Bryan Urias for Assembly District 48 (West Covina), Sabrina Cervantes for Assembly District 60 (Corona) and former Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva for Assembly District 65 (Fullerton).

“This coming election year is especially important to the LGBT community, as several members of the LGBT legislative caucus are terming out,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California.  “The current slate of EQCA endorsees will help us to maintain a strong LGBT caucus in Sacramento for the remainder of the decade, and also to re-elect a courageous ally.”

San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener has represented the Castro, Noe Valley and nearby neighborhoods on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since 2010, and also has served as a deputy city attorney and as chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party.  If elected, he would replace Sen. Mark Leno, terming out in 2016.  Leno is one of EQCA’s strongest legislative partners and represents one of the most heavily LGBT districts in the state, in a seat that has been held by an LGBT person since 2004. Wiener has been a longtime leader in San Francisco’s LGBT community and has a distinguished record as San Francisco supervisor, advocating for the needs of LGBT people and people affected by HIV. He has served as co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, and in leadership roles for BALIF, Equality California and other organizations.

“Scott Wiener is a leader on many issues impacting the LGBT community,” said Zbur. “From standing up to and successfully stopping insurance companies from raising prices on life-saving HIV medications, to fighting every year to ensure full funding for HIV care, to creating programs that address the housing and health needs of our LGBT seniors and homeless and at-risk youth, he leads the way for our community. EQCA is committed to getting Scott elected and maintaining LGBT representation from San Francisco in the state legislature.”

Urias has served on the board of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District since 2010, where, before the repeal of Proposition 8, he implemented an equal benefits policy for registered same-sex domestic partners.  He cites his involvement in the campaigns against Proposition 8 and the earlier Proposition 22 as key reasons for his interest in politics.

“Bryan cut his political teeth on LGBT issues and he will be a strong advocate for our community when he is elected to the California Assembly,” said Zbur.  “His history of implementing pro-LGBT policies and his personal experience as an openly gay Latino man will make him an effective advocate for LGBT people and a strong potential partner for Equality California as we work to improve the lives of LGBT people and all the diverse communities of which we are a part.”

Cervantes is currently district director for California Assemblymember José Medina.  She is also a boardmember of the non-profit TruEvolution, which advocates for LGBT youth and people with HIV.

“As district director for Assemblymember José Medina in the Inland Empire, Sabrina is on the frontline to implement progressive policies in a largely conservative region,” said Zbur.  “She is a dynamic young leader who will represent LGBT people, working class families and all communities of the Inland Empire.”

Sharon Quirk-Silva is running for her former assembly seat representing northern Orange County.  While in the Legislature, Quirk-Silva earned a 100 percent legislative score from EQCA – in contrast to her conservative predecessor’s rating of zero.  A former teacher, Quirk-Silva has been a passionate supporter of protections for LGBT students, measures to protect LGBT people from discrimination, and more.  She has also served as mayor of Fullerton and as a Fullerton councilmember.

“Sharon has already amply proved herself as a strong ally to EQCA and to the entire LGBT community during her time as an assemblymember,” said Zbur.  “She has a teacher’s understanding and compassion for LGBT youth, and has been a brave and vocal supporter of full LGBT equality and civil rights.  We are looking forward to helping send her back to Sacramento.”

The Equality California Political Action Committee endorses viable candidates who have a proven track record of supporting equal rights and legal protections for LGBT Californians and who are committed to advancing these goals in their capacity as elected officials.

 

«‹ 80 81 82 83›»