BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 67|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 67
Author: Mullin (D), Bonta (D), Chiu (D), Thurmond (D), and
Ting (D), et al.
Amended: 6/22/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/14/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 6/22/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Ballot measures
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution provides that the Legislature stands
in moral and legal objection to the ballot measure proposing to
enact the Sodomite Suppression Act, and to any other ballot
measure that seeks to inflict harm on innocent persons or
diminish current civil rights protections. This resolution
calls upon the residents of the State of California to reject
bigotry and hate speech.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Provides, under the U.S. Constitution, that Congress shall
make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
ACR 67
Page 2
2) Provides, under the California Constitution, for the right
of every person to freely speak, write and publish his or
her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the
abuse of this right. Existing law further provides that a
law may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or press.
3) Provides, under the U.S. Constitution, that no state shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall
any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
4) Provides, under the California Constitution, that all
people are by nature free and independent and have
inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending
life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting
property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and
privacy.
5) Provides, under the California Constitution, that the
initiative is the power of the electors to propose statutes
and amendments to the Constitution and to adopt or reject
them. Existing law further provides that an initiative
measure may be proposed by presenting to the Secretary of
State a petition that sets forth the text of the proposed
statute or amendment to the Constitution and is certified to
have been signed by electors equal in number to give percent
in the case of a statute, and 8% in the case of an amendment
to the Constitution, of the votes for all candidates for
Governor at the last gubernatorial election. Existing law
requires that the Secretary of State then submit the measure
at the next general election held at least 131 days after it
qualifies or at any special statewide election held prior to
that general election, and authorizes the Governor to call a
special statewide election for the measure.
This resolution states that:
1) The Legislature affirms the right of free speech, no
matter how abhorrent;
ACR 67
Page 3
2) The Legislature objects to and denounces the introduction
of a ballot measure that calls for violence, harm, and
intimidation to be caused to another person due to that
person's sexual orientation or gender identity;
3) A proposed ballot measure, which would enact the Sodomite
Suppression Act, was submitted to the Attorney General for
title and summary on February 26, 2015;
4) The Sodomite Suppression Act would require a person to be
put to death if he or she engages in specified conduct with
another person of the same gender; would make it a crime to
distribute, perform, or transmit "sodomistic propaganda," as
defined; and would prohibit a person from serving in any
public office or in public employment, or from enjoying any
public benefit, if he or she is a "sodomite," "espouses
sodomistic propaganda," or "belongs to any group that does;"
5) Sexual orientation and gender identity, each a protected
class, are characteristics intrinsic to an individual, and
the proposed ballot measure seeks to inflict great bodily
harm and to intimidate individuals based on these innate
characteristics;
6) The Legislature finds it abhorrent and repulsive that a
citizen of this state would seek to introduce a ballot
initiative that calls for the execution and intimidation of
another based on a personal characteristic, which is
inherent and unchangeable;
7) The contents of the recently proposed ballot measure are
totally, completely, and wholly antithetical to the
principles of a civilized society for which this Legislature
stands and upholds;
8) The proposed ballot measure is reminiscent of actions
inflicted on innocent persons under various oppressive
regimes throughout history;
9) The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
community includes our colleagues, staff, daughters, sons,
family, friends, neighbors, and the constituents that we
have the privilege to serve;
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Page 4
10) In 1978, Ronald Reagan joined California voters in
opposing the Briggs Initiative that would have banned gays
and lesbians, and possibly anyone who supported gay rights,
from working in California's public schools;
11) The Legislature has an affirmative duty to prevent
injustices by protecting innocent people;
12) Countless patriots have stood firm in the battle for civil
rights, most notably Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who
famously wrote that "[i]njustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere;"
13) This proposed ballot measure goes beyond repealing civil
rights of the LGBT community, including the right to marry
and the right to adopt regardless of sexual orientation or
gender identity, as it condones and legalizes murder,
contrary to established California law; and
14) The Legislature rejects any policy, including the policy
of affording businesses the right to discriminate against
the LGBT community and the policy supporting the repugnant
practice of so-called "reparative therapy," that seeks to
punish individuals who are innocent of any wrongdoing and
simply for innate characteristics.
This resolution provides that the Legislature stands in moral
and legal objection to the ballot measure proposing to enact the
Sodomite Suppression Act, and to any other ballot measure that
seeks to inflict harm on innocent persons or diminish current
civil rights protections. This resolution calls upon the
residents of the State of California to reject bigotry and hate
speech.
Background
Notably, California prohibits, under numerous laws such as the
Fair Employment and Housing Act or the Unruh Civil Rights Act,
discrimination against a person on the basis of characteristics
such as race, religion, color, national origin, disability, sex,
gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, and sexual
orientation. Other California laws, such as the Ralph Civil
Rights Act, prohibit any act of violence, or intimidation by
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Page 5
threat of violence, committed against a person or the person's
property because of such characteristics, and otherwise punishes
as a "hate crime" under the Penal Code criminal acts committed,
in whole or in part, because of specified characteristics
(including sexual orientation) of a victim, whether they are
actual or perceived. Similarly, the California Penal Code
further prohibits any person, whether or not acting under color
of law, from, by force or threat of force, willfully injuring,
intimidating, interfering with, oppressing, or threatening any
other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or
privilege secured to him or her by the Constitution or laws of
this state or of the United States in whole or in part because
of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of the
victim listed under law-once again, including sexual
orientation. (See e.g. Gov. Code Secs. 11135, 12900 et seq.;
Civ. Code Secs. 51, 51.7; Pen. Code Sec. 422.55, 422.6.)
Additionally, both the federal and state constitutions protect
the right of all people to enjoy life and liberty. (See e.g.
U.S. Const., 14th Amend, Sec. 1; Cal. Const., art. I., Sec. 1.)
In February 2015, a lawyer from Southern California submitted a
ballot initiative entitled the "Sodomite Suppression Act" to the
Office of the Attorney General, to be placed on the next ballot,
calling for the death of any person who engages in sodomy in
this state. The Act sought to amend the Penal Code to provide,
among other things:
The abominable crime against nature known as buggery, called
also sodomy, is a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of
freedom and liberty, commands us to suppress on pain of our
utter destruction even as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than
that all of us should be killed by God's just wrath against us
for the folly of tolerating wickedness in our midst, the
People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that
any person who willingly touches another person of the same
gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by
bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.
No person shall serve in any public office, nor serve in
public employment, nor enjoy any public benefit, who is a
sodomite or who espouses sodomistic propaganda or who belongs
ACR 67
Page 6
to any group that does.
This law is effective immediately and shall not be rendered
ineffective nor invalidated by any court, state or federal,
until heard by a quorum of the Supreme Court of California
consisting only of judges who are neither sodomites nor
subject to disqualification hereunder. (Sodomite Suppression
Act (Feb. 24, 2015)
Page 7
abhorrent and repulsive that a citizen of this state would
seek to introduce a ballot initiative that calls for the
execution and intimidation of another based on a personal
characteristic, which is inherent and unchangeable.
Furthermore, the contents of the recently proposed ballot
measure are totally, completely, and wholly antithetical to
the principles of a civilized society for which this
Legislature stands and uphold.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/15/15)
Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee
Berkeley City Councilmember
East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club
Equality California
Our Family Coalition
San Mateo County Supervisor, District 1
Santa Clara County Supervisor, Fourth District
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
Three individuals
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/15/15)
One individual
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 6/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo
Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
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Page 8
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Dahle, Wood
Prepared by:Ronak Daylami / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
7/15/15 16:35:26
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