While LGBTQ candidates and their supporters celebrated several milestone victories around the nation in this year’s midterm elections, California quietly reached its own: At least 10% of its state lawmakers identify publicly as LGBTQ, believed to be a first for any U.S. legislature.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law that’s designed to stop Texas and other conservative states from removing children from parents who allow them to receive gender-affirming health care in California.
A new law will help military service members who were discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” policies to reestablish their eligibility for Veterans Affairs benefits, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday.
“I can confidently say that it’s about visibility and being included, so that we are not just living in the shadows, that we are creative, that we experience trauma like other people experience trauma, but that we also experience joy, and that we have many things to celebrate about ourselves and are proud of our communities,” said the executive director of the LGBTQ Center.
Lawmakers are nearing final approval of a bill to protect those receiving or providing transgender health care in California from prosecution under a wave of legislation in other states. But the proposal has drawn intense opposition from the California Family Council.
Organizers of the story hours say that social media accounts are fueling the backlash and that opponents claiming they want to protect children are actually scaring and endangering them.
Onlookers carried LGBTQ+ pride flags, donned jackets with colors of the rainbow and embraced one another as the new tower was unveiled.
“The Pride Tower represents our unwavering commitment to our LGBTQ employees and to the diverse communities of Long Beach,” a city official said.
The previous tower, which was painted by lifeguards in honor of Pride month last year, burned down in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 23.
Porter Gilberg has served as executive director of the Center since 2014.
