BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 43
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: 8/7/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-1, 8/15/12
AYES: Evans, Corbett, Leno
NOES: Harman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-21, 8/9/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Sexual orientation and gender identity
SOURCE : Bienestar Human Services, Inc.
DIGEST : This bill calls upon the Congress of the United
States and the President of the United States to pass
legislation that would expressly include sexual orientation
and gender identity in all laws of the United States
created to end discrimination.
ANALYSIS : This resolution states that the United States
was founded as a democratic nation, and a central tenet of
the law of the United States is the principle of equal
protection and nondiscrimination under the law.
This resolution states that the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(Pub. L. No. 88-352 (Jul. 2, 1964) 78 Stat. 241), which
makes it unlawful to terminate, refuse to hire, or
CONTINUED
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otherwise discriminate with respect to the terms and
conditions of employment based on race, color, national
origin, sex, or religion, does not expressly list sexual
orientation or gender identity as protected
characteristics.
This resolution states that the Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (15 U.S.C.S. 1691), which protects against
discrimination based on race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, marital status, age, or to impose different
terms or conditions of a loan, does not expressly list
sexual orientation or gender identity among the protected
characteristics.
This resolution states that the Family and Medical Leave
Act (29 U.S.C.S. 2601) entitles eligible employees to take
job-protected leave to care for an ailing spouse, but does
not expressly include domestic partners or members of civil
unions.
This resolution states that the Fair Housing Act (42
U.S.C.S. 3601 et seq.) prohibits discrimination in the
sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other
housing-related transactions, based on race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and
disability, but does not expressly list sexual orientation
or gender identity among the protected characteristics.
This resolution asserts that while there have been recent
gains in protections, nothing can match the safeguards,
symbolism, and promise for all people like the inclusion of
sexual orientation and gender identity alongside race,
color, sex, national origin, religion, age, and disability
in this country's landmark federal antidiscrimination acts.
This resolution asserts that, as in any historical
movement, it will take a broad coalition of individuals,
allies, and organizations who believe in equality to
advance this urgent call to eliminate discrimination based
on sexual orientation and gender identity with the full
force of official United States government policy and
power.
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This resolution calls upon the United States Congress and
the President of the United States to pass legislation to
expressly include sexual orientation and gender identity in
all laws of the United States created to end discrimination
in this country, and would require that copies of this
resolution be delivered to each member of the Congress and
the President of the United States, and to each presiding
officer of each house of the state legislatures.
Background
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, a milestone in federal
legislation, outlawed major forms of discrimination against
racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and
women. The Act aimed to put an end to the unequal
application of voter registration requirements, racial
segregation in schools, discrimination at the workplace,
and by facilities that served the public. Other civil
rights movements have resulted in federal legislation which
offer protections against discrimination as well, including
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the
Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Housing Act.
These federal acts represent the minimum level of
protection that state governments must provide for
individuals within that state, but states are authorized to
create laws which further protect their inhabitants.
California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and
Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh) have evolved to include
protections for characteristics above and beyond what is
required under federal law, such as medical conditions,
marital status, and sexual orientation. These laws reflect
the state public policy against arbitrary discrimination
against individuals. AB 887 (Atkins, Ch. 719, Stats. 2011)
further expanded on the protections offered under
California law by clarifying that "gender" under FEHA and
Unruh includes both "gender identity" and "gender
expression" whether or not the gender identity or
expression of an individual would stereotypically be
associated with a person's assigned sex at birth. These
changes to existing law were aimed at ensuring that
transgender and other gender non-conforming individuals
would be free from discrimination in the workplace and
regarding housing.
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Federal law has expressly recognized protections for the
lesbian, gay, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) population in
two statutes: the Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Law and the
Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (Pub.L. No. 111-321 (Dec. 22,
2010) 124 Stat. 3515; Pub.L. No. 111-84 (Oct. 28, 2009) 123
Stat. 2835.) These laws enable LGBTQ persons to openly
serve in the United States military and recognize that
LGBTQ individuals may be victims of hate crimes and thereby
seek relief under federal law. However, express provisions
similar to those found under California civil rights law
which protect individuals from discrimination based on
sexual orientation and gender identity are absent from
federal law. Accordingly, this bill calls upon the United
States Congress and President of the United States to pass
legislation that would expressly include protections for
sexual orientation and gender identity in all federal laws
created to end discrimination.
Prior Legislation
AB 887 (Atkins, Chapter 719, Statutes of 2011) clarified
the definition of gender to include gender identity and
expression under the Fair Employment and Housing Act and
the Unruh Civil Rights Act as well as other
anti-discrimination laws.
HR 20 (Eng, 2009) supported of the federal Employment
Non-Discrimination Act of 2009, by prohibiting employment
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity, and urged Congress to pass the Act and the
President to sign it. That resolution was adopted by the
Assembly.
AB 2800 (Laird, Chapter 578, Statutes of 2006) made
consistent various code sections relating to financing,
construction, and occupancy of housing, by cross
referencing existing law language providing that it shall
be unlawful to discriminate against or harass any person
because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry,
familial status, source of income, or disability of that
person.
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AB 1400 (Laird, Chapter 420, Statutes of 2005) clarified
that marital status and sexual orientation are among the
characteristics that are protected against discrimination
by business establishments under the Unruh Civil Rights
Act.
AB 2900 (Laird, Chapter 788, Statutes of 2004) incorporated
in various code provisions that prohibit discrimination in
employment on the basis of specified characteristics, a
reference to the bases enumerated in FEHA.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/12)
Bienestar Human Services, Inc. (source)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
California Church IMPACT
California Employment Lawyers Association
California Faith for Equality
California Immigrant Policy Center
California National Organization for Women
California Nurses Association
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Coalition of Welcoming Congregations of the Bay Area
Equality California
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
HONOR PAC
Latino Equality Alliance
League of United Latin American Citizens
Marriage Equality USA
Our Family Coalition
Out4Immigration
Service Employees International Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states:
Our nation's landmark anti-discrimination laws rightfully
protect on the basis of race, color, sex, national
origin, and religion. These laws, however, omit
protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,
and queer individuals. As a result, states are currently
free to choose to either protect �lesbian, gay, bisexual,
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transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)] individuals or target
this population for further discrimination.
In response to this, AJR 43 urges the President of the
United States and the United States Congress to include
sexual orientation and gender identity in our nation's
civil rights and antidiscrimination laws. This inclusion
will comprehensively extend basic, fundamental human
rights to our nation's LGBTQ population.
The bill's sponsor, Bienestar Human Services writes,
"Without a comprehensive response by the federal
government, LGBTQ Americans continue to be at the mercy of
state and local laws that can either protect them or target
them for discrimination. ? This wide-scale historical and
ongoing discrimination in fundamental human rights based
upon outdated and unjust principles necessitates a
comprehensive response by the federal government."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 52-21, 08/09/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall,
Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Bill Berryhill, Conway, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,
Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Cook, Gorell, Halderman, Roger
Hern�ndez, Norby, Valadao
RJG:m 8/16/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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