2019 California laws that protect LGBTQ people

Four California laws went into effect January 1 that give legal protections to LGBTQ people. Photo: LPETTET/iStock

Four California laws went into effect January 1 that give legal protections to LGBTQ people.

• California law enforcement to receive LGBTQ training

With Assembly Bill 2504, the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training must develop training for officers and public safety dispatchers related to sexual orientation, gender identity differences, and incidents involving queer people.

• LGBTQ seniors get equal access to services

Assembly Bill 2719 updated state law and added sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to the list of seniors who have the highest social needs due to cultural and social isolation. The bill also gives these vulnerable seniors priority consideration for programs and services available from the California Department of Aging.

• Unmarried, same-sex receive parental protections

California law defines who is a parent, and the state’s more than four decade old Uniform Parentage Act has been updated. It now includes language that defines a parent and child relationship to kids of unmarried, gay or lesbian couples.

• California offers non-binary driver’s licenses, IDs

Thanks to the Gender Recognition Act, SB 179, California has simplified the process for a third gender, non-binary option on state-issued IDs, driver’s licenses, and birth certificates.