California Governor Makes Big Pro LGBTQ Move

On Oct. 7 California Governor Jerry Brown signed three major bills. These three bills are a huge step in the direction of LGBTQ equality. This is a bold move that will start to make the lives of those in the community even better.

The first of these bills is one that requires full equal treatment of transgendered people by their employers. This bill requires that companies give the same benefits to their transgendered employees that they would to their cisgender employees. California is the first state to enact such a bill.

In the past, the state did have a law to protect transgendered employees; however there was a loophole where if a company contracted with the state they didn’t have to give full coverage. Now every employee in the state will have the same coverage as every employee in their company.

The second bill updated the laws regarding assisted reproduction. This law states that any couple that has a child will both be considered parents. In the past only straight couples who weren’t married would be considered to be co parents. This is because both of their DNA is involved in the making of the child. Now if one has a child via a sperm donor, through surrogacy or through other means they will both be considered parents. This is important for the LGBT community because most couples will use home inseminations to achieve a pregnancy because it is more cost effective.

The third bill changes how medical companies collect demographics. Now state facilities that deal with health can take sexual orientation and gender identity into account in the same way that they would take any other demographic into account. This is important because it makes those in the LGBT community a visible and official entity in the eyes of the government. This can also help with research that applies to the LGBT demographic; such as AIDS research.

The Equality Act

With the passing of marriage equality there has been a push to make an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ individuals. As of this moment in time, full equality can only be granted by the state level. Right now the only state that has achieved this is California. If this amendment was passed it would grant full equal rights for LGBTQ people. This includes equality in employment, housing, credit, health care and other accommodations.

However as of this moment the Obama Administration is not on board yet with passing this amendment. It hasn’t been stated whether or not Obama is against the amendment however he has been found unavailable to comment on the issue.

Upon closer review Obama has said that he supports the idea behind the amendment however there are a lot of technicalities to look at before they pass it. Whether it passes in his term or not it seems as though all of the Democratic candidates are vying to pass the amendment if they come into office.

Pastor Protection Act

Florida lawmakers have been trying to pass a law that protects clergy member’s ability to refuse to officiate same-sex marriage ceremonies. This Pastor Protection Act is a moot point as this right is already protected by the U.S. Constitution. Right now the subcommittee has approved this movement.

Democrats see this as a waste of resources of the state as this is a right that will not be revoked by the Federal government. The argument for this law to be adopted is that officials are being sued for discrimination because they choose not to wed same-sex couples. However, this bill has not made it to the House yet.