Bill addresses transgender inmates in California

MercuryNews.com – By Don Thompson – Associated Press Writer

Sacramento – The state Assembly will consider a bill as early as Thursday that would require state prison officials to take inmates’ sexual preference and gender identity into account when they make housing decisions.

The bill by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, is supported by gay rights groups that cite studies showing that homosexual, bisexual or transgender inmates are more vulnerable to abuse. It has cleared two committees with little opposition.