The California LGBT Legislative Caucus in a Year of Enormous Change

Leno, in reflecting on the beginnings of the caucus, attributes the successful formation in part due to the leadership of the Democratic Caucus. He said that “caucuses don’t just form; they are designated and supported by the leadership.” Laird shares a similar sentiment, expressing that the formation of the LGBT Legislative Caucus was good for the Democratic Caucus, overall, in recognizing and doing the right thing by supporting the caucus.

Looking back at the political atmosphere of the time, Kehoe said that there wasn’t much objection, from either house or party, to the establishment of the caucus because of its small size. She said the members were otherwise fairly likeable, accepted members already. “However,” she said, “What I found most shocking when I came to Sacramento from San Diego was that some conservative members of the Republican Party were openly hostile to LGBT issues in California.” At the time, Kehoe remembers that it was openly expressed on the floor that homosexuality was, to those that spoke, a “morally indefensible sexual orientation” and that those members openly opposed any advancement in LGBT civil rights to any degree.

All the members of the caucus commented that the presence of the caucus has served both legislative and personal ends. Leno commented that the caucus’ presence helped further bills, such as those that strengthened rights afforded to Domestic Partnerships to bills that were LGBT non-specific but still impacted the community nevertheless. “We wanted to be at the forefront of those bills,” said Kuehl. “Some people thought they would work on the bills simply because they wanted to, and though coming from our straight-allies, we thought that may not be the best thing to do.”

The caucus members all expressed the importance of the caucus space in coming together and openly discussing each member’s efforts to advance the LGBT community through legislative action and initiatives. “It’s hard enough keeping legislatures in the same room for a full amount of time; it’s almost impossible,” said Kehoe, “but we used to meet frequently for dinners and we all stayed. The caucus functioned for us as a clearing house, and we were on top of hot, local issues as well as what gay organizations, and anti-gay organizations, were up to throughout the state.”

One of the major dynamics the LGBT caucus has to overcome is the process of term limits. “It’s really quite tenuous,” said Kuehl. As of November, Leno will move from his Assembly seat to the senate, replacing Migden. Kuehl and Lair will be termed out. This leaves Kehoe and Leno as the only remaining Caucus members until Tom Ammiano, Democratic candidate for the assembly and current member of the Board of Supervisors for San Francisco, and John A. Pérez, Democratic candidate for the assembly and current Political Director for United Food and Commercial Workers from Los Angeles, win their respective races.

“I think that the main way the caucus can maintain itself is to plan for succession; we need to identify LGBT leaders that have already been elected at the local level and encourage them to think about senate or assembly tenures,” said Kuehl. Kuehl personally, and emphatically endorses San Diego City Councilwoman Toni Atkins running for Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña’s (D-San Diego) seat in 2010. “We need young, vibrant creative people to take on the important issues of California,” said Kehoe. “We need representation from all parts of California, not just San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and from all backgrounds, business related to academic.”

Laird, who has been out for the majority of his political career, said, “When you get a seat at the table, things change.” Each caucus member has brought some piece of the LGBT community’s concerns to the legislature. Whether it was through Laird’s own committed work on funding HIV prevention networks, or Migden’s current work on SB 1115, a bill that would prohibit discrimination qua “risk factors” in the apportionment of workers’ compensation apportionment determinations, which includes both gender and marital status (an important element for when Proposition 8 fails), the caucus members work to support each other’s bills in the common pursuit of advancing the quality of life for the LGBT community in the state.

In the meantime before November, when voters will have to negotiate personal politics and the State constitution in determining whether LGBT couples can be included in the definition of marriage, the caucus members will be active in opposing Proposition 8. “We’re working in tandem with Equality for All, [the coalition] has spearheaded the fight to defeat Proposition 8,” said Leno. He is confident that the coalition of various groups, along with his and his caucus peers’ own work, will “turn this page in history”, as same-sex marriage has “now been recognized as a civil rights issue.”

Organizations that Leno had commented as actively working against Proposition 8 include, but are not limited to, the Chinese for Affirmative Action, Asian Law Caucus, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Organization of Women, American Civil Liberties Union, and the California Council of Churches. The California Council of Churches is an umbrella group for 9 different Christian Denominations, and Leno said the caucus has always had their support.

The caucus members will contribute to fundraising efforts in opposition against Proposition 8, with an event scheduled for August. Laird is committed to hard, local organizing in his district and any fundraising he can do statewide. He has had previous experience as a leader in the 2000 No on 22 campaign; the campaign was committed to defeating Proposition 22, which blocked the State from recognizing same-sex marriage. “This is a fight for every Californian who believes equal rights are important for all people,” said Kehoe. “We are actively working within the discussion to educate people the importance of defeating this unconstitutional amendment.”

Kyle Samia is a student at the University of California at San Diego who writes for the California Progress Report as part of an academic internship program with the University of California at Sacramento journalism program this summer.