eBar.com – by Heather Cassell
The new year rings in eight new laws to protect LGBT people’s rights in California.
The new laws cover a cornucopia of basic protections from tax laws to extending partner benefits for businesses contracting with the state to domestic violence funding to gender identity violence to LGBT senior protections.
“We are very pleased,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, about the new protections for LGBT Californians. “There’s never been a state ? or on the federal level ? that has passed so many laws in one year.”
Most of the laws were signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last year and went into effect January 1.
While Kors expressed excitement with a firm focus on the future for LGBT equality in California, some lobbyists aren’t quite as satisfied with the results of this year’s slew of new laws ? mostly due to the continuing battle for marriage equality.