BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 19
Author: Pan (D), et al.
Amended: 9/6/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 57-1, 8/12/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Veterans benefits
SOURCE : Japanese American Citizens League
DIGEST : This resolution urges the President and Congress of
the United States to provide benefits, including applicable
spousal benefits, to those veterans discriminated against solely
on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/6/13, strike out "reinstate" and
add "provide," to clarify that the veterans receive benefits
they were denied, including applicable spousal benefits, for the
first time.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1. In 1993, Congress adopted a policy known as Don't Ask, Don't
Tell (DADT), prohibiting service personnel from inquiring, or
volunteering information, about their sexual orientation.
Prior to 1993, federal law and military regulations
prohibited homosexuality in the Armed Forces of the United
States.
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AJR 19
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2. From 1980 until the repeal of DADT in 2011, over 32,000
service personnel were separated from the Armed Forces of the
United States under DADT and its predecessor policies.
3. More than 13,000 service personnel were separated from the
Armed Forces of the United States after the adoption of DADT.
Approximately one-quarter of these discharges occurred
during the service member's first four months of service.
4. California law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
national origin, ethnic group identification, religion, age,
sex, sexual orientation, color, genetic information, or
disability.
5. Section 711.1 of the Military and Veterans Code assists
veterans by requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to
provide Internet resources, Internet links, and printed
materials regarding, or created by, veterans' legal services
organization that specialize in military discharge upgrades,
or links to Internet resources that provide information and
printed resources provided by veterans' legal services
organizations. It also provides that if the federal
government act to provide benefits to discharged veterans who
were denied those benefits solely on the basis of sexual
orientation pursuant to any federal policy prohibiting
homosexual personnel from serving in the United States Armed
Forces, the state shall provide to those veteran any
state-offered benefits.
This resolution urges the President and Congress of United
States to provide benefits, including applicable spousal
benefits, to those veterans discriminated against solely on the
basis of their sexual orientation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/6/13)
Japanese American Citizens League (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 57-1, 8/12/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
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AJR 19
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Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson,
Eggman, Fong, Fox, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Hall, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Weber,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Grove
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Bigelow, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Linder, Logue, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Olsen, Patterson,
Waldron, Wilk, Vacancy, Vacancy
AL:d 9/9/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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