Four new California laws benefit GLBT citizens

Four new laws that took effect Jan. 1 will benefit GLBT residents of California, according to Jim Carroll, managing director of Equality California.

GLBT youth will now have access mental health services without their parents’ consent; Assembly Bill 2199 repeals the requirement that California seek the “causes and cures of homosexuality; same-sex couples who are both domestic partners and married to dissolve their partnership and their marriage with the same process if they choose to separate; and same-sex couples who are about to enter into a domestic partnership the same unemployment benefits as opposite-sex couples who are about to wed.

Carroll said Equality California is sponsoring a bill in the new legislative session, authored by Leno, which will “ensure all students learn about the contributions of LGBT people and the movement for LGBT rights in their social science classes,” and sponsoring a bill to strengthen anti-bullying laws.

(via: Ukiah Daily Journal)