Senate Floor

Allen. Alvarado-Gil. Archuleta. Ashby. Atkins. Becker. Blakespear. Bradford. Caballero. Cortese. Dahle. Dodd. Durazo. Eggman. Glazer. Gonzalez. Grove. Hurtado. Jones. Laird. Limon. Mcguire. Menjivar. Min. Newman. Nguyen. Niello. Ochoa Bogh. Padilla. Portantino. Roth. Rubio. Seyarto. Skinner. Smallwood-Cuevas. Stern. Umberg. Wahab. Wiener. Wilk.

A quorum is present. Would the Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise? We will be led in prayer this afternoon by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman, after which please remain standing. We will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag by Senator Wiener.

Let us pray. Gracious God of radical inclusive and unconditional love, you are the life of all life and beyond all names. May the sparks of your beauty dance in the eyes of those we love. Be with us as we pray in solidarity with all those who seek to live lives of authenticity and integrity. Today we remember the LGBTQ plus community, especially those who live in fear of persecution and violence. For them, we pray for freedom.

For LGBTQ plus young people who long for the support of their friends and families, we pray for courage. For those who have ended their lives rather than endure the taunts of peers and rejection by family and society, we pray for peace. For all of us in roles of authority, those responsible for public safety and changing attitudes, we pray for wisdom. For those communities where God's love is spoken and LGBTQ plus persons long for acceptance, we pray for integrity of word and deed.

Merciful God, may this remembering encourage all of us not to place limits on your boundless love. May we appreciate and celebrate the gifts of LGBTQ plus persons each and every day. Amen.

I invite you to join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and through the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Members, we're going to move on to privileges of the floor. On behalf of Senator Hurtado, we would like to recognize filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite and Emmy Award winning reporter, producer, and correspondence Nathan Halverson for their work on the documentary The Grab, which is playing today at the Crest Theater. Please give them a warm Senate welcome.

Members, we're going to move on to messages from the Governor will be deemed read. Messengers from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of Committee will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Moving on to motions, resolutions, and notices without objection, the Senate journals for May 30th 2023 through June 1st 2023 will be approved as corrected by the Minute Clerk. Members, we're going to move on to consideration of the daily file.

We're going to take up Senate third reading file item number three SCR 64 by Senator Dodd. He is prepared. Please read.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 64 by Senator Dodd relative to Elder and Department Adult Abuse Awareness Month.

Senator Dodd, the floor is yours.

Madam President Members SCR 64 proclaims and recognizes the month of June as elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Awareness Month in the State of California. This annual recognition aligns with the national and international recognition during the month of June. Elder abuse is a major issue in the United States, with California unfortunately being one of the highest ranked states with reported abuse cases. Elders and dependent adults may be impacted by a constellation of physical, mental and medical impairments that leave them especially susceptible to abuse and exploitation, while making it more difficult for them to properly report the abuse. This abuse comes in a wide variety of forms such as physical, emotional, sexual and financial exploitation, with financial abuse ranking as one of the highest reported amongst adults over 60 amounting to trillions of dollars of losses each year in the United States. It is important that we continue to educate ourselves and others about this ongoing plight in order to properly recognize the signs of abuse and take steps towards preventing them. Respectfully ask your aye vote.

Members, is there any discussion or debate on this item? Any discussion or debate saying none? Please call the roll.

Allen. Alvarado-Gil, aye. Archuleta, aye. Ashby, aye. Atkins, aye. Becker, aye. Blakespear, aye. Bradford, aye. Caballero, aye. Cortese, aye. Dahle, aye. Dodd, aye. Durazo. Eggman. Durazo, aye. Eggman, aye. Glazer, aye. Gonzalez, aye. Grove. Hurtado, aye. Jones, aye. Laird, aye. Limon. Mcguire, aye. Menjivar, aye. Min. Newman, aye. Min, Aye. Niello, aye. Ochoa Bogh, aye. Padilla, aye. Portantino. Roth, aye. Rubio, aye. Seyarto, aye. Skinner, aye. Smallwood-Cuevas, aye. Stern, aye. Umberg, aye. Wahab, aye. Wiener, aye. Wilk, aye.

Please call the absent Members.

Allen, aye. Grove. Limon, aye. Min. Portantino.

Ayes, 37. No, zero. The resolution is adopted. Members, we're going to move to file item number two, Senate Resolution 33. Senator Eggman is prepared. Please read.

Senate resolution 33 by Senator Eggman. Relative to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Pride Month.

Senator Eggman, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Members. Today I rise on behalf of the LGBT Caucus to present Senate Resolution 33 to celebrate and commemorate Pride Month. Pride Month was first started, as people know, in the Stonewall Riots, 1969. So 40 plus years ago, we have been coming forward and saying we're not going to be in the closet anymore. We are full members of society and want to be treated as such with love and acceptance, just like everybody else. Since that time, we have made remarkable gains in our evolution, in our progress, in our rights. From the greatest, Supreme Court says that we have the right to marry down to how we can dress, where we can live, and everything else. Now, these rights rights are never just granted. They're always somewhat hard fought. And so this year, for some reason, we have seen a beginning of a rollback of some of our we know there's over 400 pieces of legislation introduced around the country, and we know that the LGBTQ plus community has been vilified, most recently as a political punching bag. And we know even in this chamber we had some pushback with some of our guests that are being honored today. So I just want to acknowledge that and just say that we never get to that full path of freedom and equality without some struggles. And we acknowledge that. And when we're faced with it, we try to reach back with love and acceptance. I also stand today as a proud Catholic. Always surprises people sometimes. They think sometimes LGBT people cannot be religious. I happen to be a very proud Catholic, and while I love my church, my church doesn't always love all parts of me. But that's okay because I don't always love all parts of my church either. And that's the way we go forward in being able to push through things and not leave our spaces, because I've got my own space in that pew just like the generations before me and I'm not leaving. And I refuse to let doors be slammed in the face of anybody. So we have a phenomenal group of 12 Members that's because we now have 10% of the body is LGBTQ, which is the first time in the nation any state Legislature has done that. We have more members of the LGBT caucus than we do in the minority party in the Senate chamber. We celebrate that. We celebrate our colleagues and peers, and we continue to look for that path where we are all accepted and acknowledged for who we are and not necessarily who we love. There is room for us, all of us, in California, and I ask for your aye vote on Senate Resolution 33.

Is there any discussion or debate on this resolution? Any discussion or debate? Senator Smallwood-Cuevas.

Thank you, Madam President. And I rise on behalf of the California Legislative Black Caucus in support of SR 33 that recognizes the month of June as LGBTQ plus Pride month. Pride Month commemorates the LGBTQ community's many years of struggle for their civil rights, and it celebrates their resilience and their fight to live in a nation free from hate and discrimination. A struggle that black Americans fully understand because of the vicious oppression that our Senator, great Senator from Stockton, thank you. Our great Senator from Stockton shared with us. They have endured, and we have endured for generations in this country to make it better in its truest self. It is because of this racial marginalization that has propelled both black and brown people to historically fight on the front lines of the LGBTQ community. In June 1969 New York City police violently raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular tavern that served as a haven for LGBTQ patrons and community. The majority of those who rose up and who were most impacted were largely men and women of color, black and brown. To protest the raid, black LGBTQ women largely organized Stonewall uprising that became the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement of the LGBTQ community. Marcia P. Johnson, say her name, a black transgender activist who was a central figure in the Stonewall uprising, went on to co found the Street Transvestite Actions Revolutionaries let me say that again street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, or Star, that provided a safe shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth. Miss Major Griffin Gracie, another black transgender leader in the Stonewall uprising, eventually directed the transgender variant and intersex justice project based in San Francisco. And although some progress has been made over the past several decades, there is clearly much more work that needs to be done to protect the human rights of all of us, and particularly the LGBTQ plus community. Research has shown that one in five trans people are denied housing applications and one in 10 are evicted because of their gender identity. Despite the Supreme Court's recent rulings and employment law, many workers and myself and Sister Bambi Salcedo worked to establish the underrepresented Worker initiative at the LA City Workforce Development Board, because far too many workers in the LGBTQ plus community struggle to have jobs that pay a living wage where they could be safe at work and fear from retaliation and termination just for being who they are. Meanwhile, trans women still report disproportionate, harassment, and brutalization by law enforcement, and queer youth continue to be overly incarcerated. Once inside, nearly 25% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual boys and girls report sexual assault and abuse by staff. With this month marking the fortieth year of the first reported AIDS case in the US. The epidemic has disproportionately affected black Americans and who represent 12.4% of the US population and 44% of deaths among young people, and has been a point of struggle in both of our intersectional communities to care for those that we love, who have fallen ill through HIV and lack of care. Today in California, a growing numbers of leaders who have courageously supported LGBTQ community, from our Governor, to this Legislature, to our Attorney General, to our local county officials and organizations like the Stonewall Democratic Club, Translatina Coalition, and Black Worker Centers. This year of pride is pride for all of us. Pride for our work together. Pride for our collective commitment to protecting civil rights and ensuring that all of California, particularly our children, can live and be who they are, and I ask for your aye vote.

Senator Menjivar.

Thank you, Madam President. I stand today in support of SR 33, perhaps to answer a question that you might be asking yourself. Why is this needed? We've done so much progress. They're fine. Look, they have 12 queer legislators serving in California. But I want to share a little bit with you about my experience this weekend. In my own district, an urban district. It's not rural, it's pretty progressive. It's pretty blue, really blue. But just two weeks ago, a Pride flag was burned in my district, in my backyard. And I attended a counter protest this past Friday. And it was an emotion that brought me back to when I was 19 years old, when Prop 8 passed. At 19 years old was my first protest ever. I participated in Hollywood. It was the first time I realized that people in power had the ability to take away my rights. It's the first time that I got into activism. And this past weekend I was brought back to being 19 years old. Because since then, I've only gotten rights. In 2011, don't ask, don't tell was repealed. And I was able to be my true self in the military. In 2015, I was given the right to get married. And a year later I proposed. And now, in 2023, I feel like we're going backwards. I went to this counterprotest and I went, obviously, I'm the state Senator. I'm an out lesbian. This is happening in my backyard. I went to represent, but also I felt very vulnerable that day. Vulnerable because while I was there to support, I was also exposing myself to the hate that was coming from the other side. The signs that they had. And I often question why, when there's protests like that, why the American flag is utilized, and people are waving this American flag and I question, why is that symbolic for you? Why is that not flag utilized to shield me, to protect me? Why is that a symbol sometimes of hate? A flag that I adore and love so much? Because I love this country. And it was hard as a state Senator, to be there because I wanted to be Caroline, or I felt like I was just Caroline there, but put on a brave face. And I think my colleague from San Francisco saw me on the news and saw that I was like marching up and they pulled me aside to speak. But in the moment, I didn't really feel like a Senator, I felt like a 19 year old girl feeling like my rights were being taken away again. We escorted a family, a same sex family with three kids. Two of them went to that school. Little girl, no more than four years old, had no idea what was happening. As their dads were escorting them, she comes up to me, unzips her jacket, her little tiny jacket, and says, love is family. And it broke my heart, because instead of actually protecting the kids, as the protesters were doing, in fact, they were instilling more hate confusion in our kids. And over two lines, a book that was read in school talked about the different kinds of families that exist in this world. And one line said, some families have two mommies and some families have two daddies. That was it. That was the extent of the protests and the hate that my community had to be exposed to because they felt that we were grooming children. And now, six months into my being a member, I am now getting and Senator from San Francisco, we might have to have a conversation how to handle now being treated as an evil person just for being gay, just for thinking that I'm here to protect little kids. So SR 33 is not just a symbol. This month is just not a celebration. But this month is a reminder of why I deserve to live a normal life, to walk down the streets with my wife and not have looks, not get discriminated against, not get any kind of words thrown at me that aren't more than "great couple." SR 33 stands to protect and validate my existence and the 12 other members that serve California. SR 33 is not just an annual resolution, and this month or this year more than ever, it's not just about pride. It's not just happy pride. The theme today, as you heard, is resist and persist. And I feel like this year is more about resisting against the horrendous attacks that are coming down to me and the rest of the LGBTQ plus community. So I ask, if you aren't thinking about voting on this, this goes beyond, this goes beyond just SR 33. This is human rights. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Skinner.

Thank you, Madam President and Members. I rise in support of SR 33 as the chair of the Legislative Women's Caucus, and it's a pleasure to honor the individuals who the LGBTQ Caucus is going to bring to us in a little bit. As chair of the Women's Caucus, I think everyone on the floor, we know well the legal assault on women's rights. We know well the ways that certain of our laws, our practices, our customs make women second class citizens. But those same things and worse happen to our LGBTQ members, and right now, we're finding that it's the convenient scapegoat. Our LGBTQ friends and family are the convenient scapegoat of some people across the country and some people that seem to be motivated by hate while they characterize it that they are not. And as our colleague just spoke about, they try to act like they're protecting children. It really is characterized by hate. And right now, across the country, in different state legislatures, there are 491 anti-LGBTQ measures. That's how many. Some have already passed, some are still in progress. So the Women's Caucus is very, very proud and pleased to fight alongside our LGBTQ Caucus in fighting back against this assault. We all deserve safe spaces, the right to essential health care, and the dignity of deciding our own futures and what is best for us and our families. When I was first elected in 2008 and I was struck by my colleague just relating how she was 18 in 2008, and one of her first protests was against Prop Eight. So I'm elected in 2008 and Prop eight passes. So I'm trying to celebrate my victory. I'm so happy that I got elected to the Assembly, but half the people with me were crying because Prop eight passes. Because right before Prop Eight passed, marriage was legal. Questionable, but legal. So then all of a sudden the voters say no. Meanwhile, my daughter and her now wife was not her wife at the time, but they had been witnesses to my husband and my marriage, and yet they were denied the same thing. Now fortunately, they're married. So what a difference a few years makes. But how thankful. And so that's the progress we've made nationally. But it seems that progress, and it was the Supreme Court that upheld gay marriage for the entire country, they're now trying to undo every other, or most every other right that our LGBT community has. I was very, very proud my very first night when I got sworn in to the Berkeley City Council. This was 1984. The first vote that I took was an ordinance to establish domestic partner benefits, and Berkeley was the first city to do so. And we did that because gay marriage was illegal. And we did it because we recognized that there were all kinds of families that were not getting the right to healthcare benefits or any of the other benefits. And that we heard the testimony from City of Berkeley employees that couldn't go and visit a loved one in the hospital because you had to be a family member or couldn't extend their health care benefits or any other number of things. So we did it. But I'm so much happier that we actually have gay marriage. But in the meantime, we have to fight those 491 bills across the country and any other threats that come forward. And for that I proudly stand in support of SR 33.

Senator Becker.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise today as Vice Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus in support of SR 33. I want to first thank my colleagues from Stockton and Berkeley, and particularly from San Fernando Valley, for sharing their stories. Well, Pride Month is a time for celebration of identity and community. And this year, Pride Month occurs at a time of rising homophobia and transphobia across our great nation. The rise in hatred and extremism, the normalization of excluding LGBTQ folks who are deemed different, coincides with a rise in antisemitism and white supremacy. To imagine that these trends are separate would be to ignore history and ignore the clear threat of danger. When people's stories are banned from libraries, when violence begins to rise, when parents teach their children to fear rather than to love the stranger, history shows that what follows is violence and trauma and suffering. Just a few weeks ago, we honored Harvey Milk, who, in his life made it crystal clear the parallels between Jewish history and anti LGBTQ movement in this country. Back in Harvey Milk's time, the anti LGBTQ movement wanted to force queer people back in the closet and eliminate drag queens and trans people from public life. So it's our duty to respond, as Milk did, to show through our actions that California will be a home, really a beacon of good force and good light, of hope for the marginalized, a safe harbor for the oppressed, and a model of inclusion and respect that all people deserve. The whole cause started with Jews being barred from public life, pinning us as a threat to children, isolating us, banning books, not allowing people to learn about us. As we talk of Pride, I also want to acknowledge our LGBTQ Members of our Jewish community who have existed throughout history and whose dual identities both inform and enrich one another, and the immense pride and love that we as a community feel for them. So this Pride Month, amid the darkness that is consuming other states, I just hope that we stand firm, and I'm proud to be part of a body that is working tirelessly to embrace love and stand up for what's right. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Gonzalez.

Thank you, Madam President and Members. I stand today not just as a state Senator and your colleague, but as a mom. I actually serve on the PTA at my child's local school and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. And on that Committee, just a few weeks ago, we dealt with anti LGBTQ hate just because we wanted to celebrate Pride Week, which is what we do every year, and just because we honor Transgender Day of Visibility, which is what we do every year. And having my eight year old understand everything that was going on, knowing that mom and dad and his family celebrate this and the diversity that is our LGBTQ friends and leaders and neighbors, not understanding why there was so much hate. And that's exactly what I want as a mom, is that my child to question when there is hatred and division against his friends who happen to be transgender, who happen to be LGBTQ. And every other parent that has had to deal with this, it's unfortunate. And I stand very close in solidarity with my colleagues here because I feel their pain. As a strong ally, I see this every single day in my community back home in Long Beach. When I talk to my friends and they tell me, you have no idea what it's like to have your rights stripped away. So people question who you are and who you love. And even though I am not LGBTQ, I'm a strong ally. I feel that pain. And so, as a parent, as somebody who wants my child every single day to learn about LGBTQ leaders and its history and to praise and love and celebrate our friends, I urge a strong aye vote on SR 33 to ensure that we not only just do this today in Pride month and today and in the month, but every single day of the year. So, thank you.

Senator Padilla.

Thank you very much, Madam President and colleagues. As an out and proud LGBTQ person of color and as a member of the Latino Legislative Caucus is certainly an honor to rise today in support of SR 33. During Pride Month, we recognize the resilience, certainly and determination of the many individuals who have fought and who continue fighting to simply live life freely and authentically. LGBTQ Latinos have been major contributors in the United States to everything from the arts, politics, and social justice movements. And certainly distinguished LGBTQ members have taken great risks. The famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Jose Julio Saria the first openly LGBTQ gay candidate to run for public office in the United States, San Francisco County Board of Soups in 1961. LGBTQ Latinos have had a significant influence and continue to do so on American culture. This Pride Month, we recognize the contributions of many individuals across our nation. The Latino Caucus reaffirms our commitment to fight against all forms of discrimination and injustice. And we must note the fact that the Chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus is for the first time, a proud Latina Lesbian assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes. Despite historic Supreme Court rulings that have struck down regressive laws, affirmed the right to marriage equality and secured workplace protections for LGBTQ individuals, there are efforts to roll back these hard fought victories. In far too many states, LGBTQ individuals still lack protections, basic protections, for fundamental rights and dignity in hospitals, schools, public accommodations, and other spaces. We also continue to witness a tragic spike in violence, as has been mentioned many times today against transgender and LGBTQ youth who are at disproportionate risk of harm. So as we celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month, we must all be diligent and steadfast in our commitment to help end violence, to stand and be vocal and be heard, and to end discrimination against the LGBTQ community so that we can, in the greatest of all American traditions, ensure a just and equitable country and society for us all. Colleagues I don't know what it is in the recesses and insecurities of human nature, but throughout the often troubled evolution of our species, we have sought to segregate and make invisible and devalue the things that we fear and that we don't understand. And the division and isolation and fear then leads to an evolution to resentment, and resentment to hate. It becomes easy to be violent, to be hateful, when you don't have to be constantly reminded of the people you seek to make invisible. Harvey Milk was right. We will not be invisible, we will stand and be proud. Thank you, Madam President.

Senator Cortese.

Thank you, Madam President. I'm happy to join my colleagues to recognize Pride Month. I have not ever stood up as a Member of a Caucus, but I'm going to stand up today as a Member of the Italian Caucus because it actually does exist. And I don't see my colleague at his desk, but I know he joins me as a fierce advocate for LGBTQ rights. Speaking of Italy, when I lived there as a 22 year old back in the day, I was amazed at how open, how open the society was and the people were with regard to their sexuality. I was amazed because that wasn't the case here at that time, and certainly it's become more of the case now. But I do believe that this is the right time to reflect on the progress that we as a state and country have made to improve the lives of the LGBTQ community here. California has passed landmark laws to protect this community and pave the way for other states to do the same. And yes, we have lots of work to do, and there are people who are creating more work for us to do, seemingly by the minute. So we need to recognize the challenges that we're still facing as a community, as a country, as a world. Many of these hardships are invisible to those who do not experience them day by day. Many trans people in this state still fear using gendered restrooms. Many buildings don't even have a gender neutral restroom. A few weeks ago, a Pride flag was burned at a California elementary school. Across the country, as has been said by so many of you, we are seeing attacks on the LGBTQ community denied opportunities for people to even speak about this community in classrooms, denied access to team sports, denied gender affirming health care that saves lives. In other parts of the world, being a member of this community is punishable by death. And in spite of these challenges, the community is resilient. Members of the LGBQT community have lived in every Senate district, moreover, the Members of this Legislature have grown over the years, as pointed out earlier by the Senator from Stockton. I thank you for bringing forward this resolution. I thank you for your candor in speaking about being both a Catholic and what that's like, being a Catholic and a Member of the LGBTQ community. I know, And I think, you know, people, heroic people who are working every day on the inside of that institution and other institutions, refusing to give up their rights to their sexuality and to who they are, and also to refuse to give up their right to live as a Catholic or under any tradition within any tradition that they choose. Those are the folks who are going to keep the movement going, who are going to continue to change the world. I'm inspired, ultimately, by the people who live authentically and unapologetically. And I'm equally inspired by the perseverance of those who, for their own safety, must hide who they are. I have both in my own family, both of those cases in my own family. But it struck me over the years, and I've been an elected official, as all of you know, for many years. What's happened, as I think and will continue to happen, is that each and every time a member of someone's family comes out, that family's values change and family values become defined as they should be, as so many of you have eloquently spoken about.

And so to me, this is a matter of family values. Not Republican family values, not Democratic Party family values, but family values. And it's families in this state and in this country who are going to continue to be the greatest advocates for the rights of our LGBTQ community. That's the case in my family and I know that's the case in other families in my own district and in this Legislature. I stand with this community and wish you all a happy Pride month.

And I urge a yes vote on SR 33.

Senator Laird.

Thank you, Madam President. I want to associate myself with the comments that were made by many Members here about what's going on now and the challenges and what we have to do. But I would actually like to talk about how far we've come. And yesterday was a joyous day in Santa Cruz because we had Pride and there were 4000 people there. It has become the largest political event in the county in a year. Everybody shows up. It's even led there by the Dykes on Bikes.

The library employees push their library carts. Somebody always drives a city dump truck. That's a city employee. It is like everybody in their space and who they are. And I get touched by the strangest thing, which is that it is now- When I first marched in San Francisco in the 1970s, the last float or act would be the singer Sylvester and everybody would come out from the side and dance up the street to the end of Pride.

Well, the last one in Santa Cruz is a Santa Cruz High School marching band and they are all wearing rainbow leis. And to think that there's all these arguments about schools and here's every member of the band with the drum major just marching and it is an amazing thing. And I spoke from the stage for the 43rd year in a row. It is such a difference from when we started.

When I first marched in our local parade, that was two or three years before I had enough whatever to be speaking. There were more demonstrators than there were marchers. We need to hire security to march with us when we did it. And in the first one I marched, I was working for the county Executive and geez, you're marching down the main street in front of outdoor restaurants and everything that's going on.

And I go to work the next week and this guy that staffs the Seniors Commission comes up to me and he says, 'geez, I was talking to the chair of the Seniors Commission and he was sitting in an outdoor cafe and he saw you march by and he said you wouldn't believe who was in the parade'. And he said, 'I didn't have the courage to tell him I was gay'. And that is the time when not many people were out.

And as much as I look back with great strength that being a trailblazer. It's not like it was easy or not like it wasn't without risk. So then you fast forward to the time that I'm in the State Assembly and I'm going down the street in a convertible. It's thousands of people.

And about two floats in front of me is the medical marijuana float, which you can imagine in Santa Cruz is slightly over the top and so there's about a 12 foot joint with smoke puffing out of it. And who did the parade organizers assign to walk with the Marijuana float, but the sheriff and the top deputies. So the sheriff comes back to me and he says, would you mind if we marched with you?

And I thought there's the arc of history from having to hire security to protect ourself to being the safe port in the storm for the county sheriff when he marches down the parade. And it was done with the kind of joy that happens in that event. So right in front of the medical marijuana float is Cheer San Francisco, who sort of do their acrobats and whenever they did it on the street, we would have to stop. The parade would stop while they did it.

And so here I'm with the sheriff and the sheriff's deputies looking at the smoke puffing out of the joint and seeing some acrobat fly in the air in front of them and then down. And it was happiness. It was now where we are and where we've come from. And the other thing yesterday is the day of the parade also happens to be the day that the first day of the AIDS/LifeCycle gets to Santa Cruz.

And we are the first night stop, seven days ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. And a few years ago I got texted by a friend who said, 'I'm three or 4 miles out of town, I know we're going by your neighborhood'. And so I would walk down to the corner because I live four doors from where they're riding their last hill of a 70 miles bike ride that day.

And it dawned on me that the stoplight there is always changing and blocking them as they're coming up the hill. So I've developed this thing, I did it yesterday for a while. I go out to the street corner and when they get about two thirds of the way up in the block before me, I hit the walk button and by the time they get to the stoplight, they are clear up the hill to their last hill. And they were all so happy.

None of them, well, with one exception, none of them has a clue who I am. I'm just a guy that's hitting the streetlight so they don't have to stop on their way up the hill. Hundreds and hundreds and thousands of bicyclists that are out for charity and don't care. Many are straight, many gay. Some are dressed up in amazing ways and one person finally said in a group of about 20 cyclists coming by, 'hey, Senator, is that you?'

And it nearly caused people to dump their bicycles as they turned to the side. But that was the joy, the joy of thousands of people celebrating in the open, being who they were, the community coming together, hundreds of thousands of people riding in support of HIV and really putting that out front.

And I think that as much as I struggle and I have a Bill to try to fix a problem right now that's going on in schools, but I just have to appreciate where we were and where we are. And in many ways, it's because of a lot of the people on this floor and it's because of resolutions like SR 33 that really tell the story and call out who we are. So I'm proud to rise in support of SR 33.

Senator Wahab.

Thank you. As a Member of the AAPI Caucus, I rise in support of the LGBTQIA community. I often speak of tolerance and expanding inclusion. And I genuinely come from a relatively more conservative community as an Afghan American. And often times I've heard people comment that this is a minority community. It's not needed to advocate for folks. It's not something that happens in our community. It's not an issue, and so much more.

And the harsh reality is that it is a part of everyone's community to speak up for justice. And I just want to remind folks that when you do not speak of inclusion, not just tolerance, but inclusion, you have incidents like the Pulse nightclub shooting, one of the largest at that time massacres in the United States. Right? And when that happened, a large percentage of the community in my district felt that there was no need to speak out in opposition to what happened.

People again stated, it's not an issue. It's something that happened over there. It happens to community Mmmbers that don't exist in our communities. And that is not true. The reality is that when we speak about family values, when we speak about community, when we speak about love, care and compassion, it is about the human being. It is about the entire community. And it is our job to sit here and decide how can we help the most vulnerable community members, most marginalized community members.

And I often and many of you have heard me speak about the American Dream. Well, part of that American Dream is to love who you would like to love, without hate, without judgment, without any oppression. And it's incredibly important that we continue to highlight the work of marginalized community members, to uplift them, to be allies. And I do just want to state that there are so many people who have died for the rights of others.

And I stand with you all, and it's an honor to recognize you all as human beings with love and respect. I will continue to stand with all of you. And again, I really do appreciate this, and I appreciate the Senators for bringing this forward.

Thank you. Senator Wiener.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, as we enter Pride Month, I just want to say today is incredibly rewarding. Just all of the positive energy and just seeing all these, you'll see in a moment, these incredibly inspiring community leaders from all across California, people who work day and night, often with little to no recognition, to make our communities a better place. So I want to, from the bottom of my heart, recognize and acknowledge each of our honorees.

I particularly want to call out one of our great San Francisco honorees, Sister Roma, who's one of the most respected community leaders in San Francisco.

In her 34 years since taking her vow as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, Roma has raised more than $1 million for the LGBTQ community and for social justice causes nationally, including supporting the St. Cyprian Episcopal Church-funded immigrant program, the AIDS Housing Alliance, the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, the Castro Country Club which is a sober space, the recycled AIDS medicine program, Drag Queen Story Hour, and a P flag chapter in Oklahoma.

Sadly, despite the festivities today, which are so important, pride this year comes as we see a resurgence of homophobia and transphobia across the United States. And not the subtle variety that we've always had, but the absolute, brazen variety, where right wing extremists and elected officials who want to be President don't even bother hiding their hatred of our community. We're even seeing it here in California. The Senator from the San Fernando Valley just talked about her experience.

We also just saw a school district in Temecula ban the teaching about Harvey Milk. Simply ban it. The president of that school board called Harvey a pedophile. We're seeing it in public spaces where extremists, for example, recently tore down Pride displays at Target, creating fear among Targets workers. We're seeing it in attacks on companies that in any way support LGBTQ people, such as the boycott of Bud Light for the mortal sin of having a trans woman in their ads.

We're seeing it in the gender policing, particularly of young people. Literally, the government dictating to people how they have to identify. The government telling you who you are instead of you making that decision for yourself. We need to acknowledge that these political attacks aren't just about political attacks. These are actions that affect and harm the lives of real human beings, real people who are harmed and whose lives are made worse because of these laws, because of these Executive orders, because of this demonization.

These are families who are simply trying to raise their kids and do right by their kids as they have determined. And they're being called criminals in some states. Or kids who are just trying to be kids and be who they are, living their authentic lives without the government dictating who they are. Or people who simply want to live safely in their communities without being threatened with the violence that always, always flows from this hateful rhetoric.

In my seven years in this body, and it has been such a deep honor to be a Member of the California State Senate in my nearly seven years here. It has made me so proud that this body and our colleagues in the Assembly over and over and over again have stood with the LGBTQ community, even when it's politically hard. And I want to thank my colleagues for standing with us, even when it's hard, even when there are political consequences.

This Pride month, amid all of this darkness, California once again has the opportunity to spread light and joy to the country. And colleagues, I want to wish everyone a very happy Pride and I urge an aye vote

Madam Pro Tem Atkins.

Well, thank you Madam President, very much. And to my know, I love these ceremonies because they represent the diversity of California. I love hearing the stories of success, of overcoming great odds from so many of the awardees from all of the caucuses. I think of the ones we've had recently, the AAPI, the Latino, the Black, on and on. These ceremonies remind us of the greatness of diversity and the differences and how we're all different.

But we're all sort of the same in that we want to live joyful lives surrounded by community and celebrate the diversity. And I'm always moved by the stories. I don't typically get up and speak at these. I just love to hear the stories. But today I am mindful of the place in history and I love the opening prayer. The opening prayer of acceptance of God's love and of diversity for all of us.

I rise very mindful, as the first woman and the first Member of the LGBTQ community, who leads this honorable Senate body, supported by all of my colleagues, all of my colleagues and how grateful I am to be given this opportunity. But as my colleague from San Fernando started to speak, I got really emotional. She and her seat-mate have served honorably this country in the United States Army to protect all of our rights.

And I am always so proud that we have service members in our body reflecting the diversity of all that we have to offer here in California and in this know, this is about everyday people who just want to live their lives. They're not like us, most of them. They don't march in Pride parades. They don't represent some stakeholder group. They're not members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. They're not members of the Republicans for this or the Democrats for that.

They're not they're just trying to live their lives with their families and have opportunity and to celebrate family and all that's good about the ability to live openly. And those of us who have the acceptance of our family, our parents, our community, we are so blessed. And for those that don't have the fortune yet of having that support, we are there to fill that void. All of us.

Not just me as a member of the gay community, not just me as a woman leader chosen by you to be in this spot, but to be a visible proof that you can be anybody you want to be. You can obtain any position that you want to obtain with the right kind of support.

And so I just want us to think, while we have our positions on any issue, it really is about all those folks out there that just want to be able to go to work and go to school and have opportunities. And our job is to make it possible for them to do that. That's our job.

And I am honored to have that position and that job and the ability to be bigger than something other than just my one little self. Joining with all of you, I get to do so much more. And I just would say I hope that what today does is help us increase understanding, just a little bit more. Understanding builds bridges. And I certainly think what the world needs now is a lot more bridges where we can meet each other midway and find ways to celebrate each other.

I urge your support for SR 33 and look forward to hearing the stories of these incredible awardees and honorees we're getting ready to hear about. Thank you.

Senator Eggman, you may conclude.

Thank you. And thank you all for your remarks. Thank you all for sharing a little bit of yourselves. I think the Pro Tem summed it up when she said, this is about all of us every day, just trying to do our best and live our lives. You see, we put a plaque on your desk. It says, 'Resist and Persist' as it sometimes feel like we're traveling back in time.

This is a reminder to what LGBT community had to wear on their sleeve during the Holocaust when people were persecuted and killed for who they were.

So as we remind ourselves back to the Holocaust, as we 'resist and persist', you'll see on the back of it all of our honorees that we're honoring today who represent the diversity that is California, the diversity that is our LGBT caucus, from educators to producers to community members to, yes, even the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who have been around for 40 years, working as nuns to serve and to minister and came around during the HIV crisis to do just that work, to continue to reach out.

I want to thank our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman, for saying our prayer today, being here with us, standing in solidarity. I have a close friend who's a nun in Stockton, and I said, we had a chaplain who's a Catholic nun, and she said,'Oh'. And she knew of her. She said, 'Oh, those Sisters of Mercy, they don't take any shit, you know?' And sure enough, we celebrate our sister and her courage. I also want to thank the staff.

Anytime we have some kind of controversy, our staff gets pulled into the middle of it and has to deal with all their own issues that come up around accusations and accusing and having to make statements about things. So as we join in joy today as we celebrate each other, I reflect on a time when I was a guest invited into a church and I attended and I was asked to leave.

I was screamed at that I was a sinner and I had no place in that church. And I walked out as everyone stood around me silent. I still remember that every single day and I still- It was not a Catholic church. And I still go to Mass. I walk to 6:30 Mass every election, and I say, 'I've done all I can do'. I go up to for a special blessing afterwards, get a special blessing from the priest. And then I say, 'Thy will be done'.

I ask for your aye vote on SR 33. Thy will be done.

Mr. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 31. No's zero. The resolution is adopted. Members. Now we're going to move on to the introduction. Senator Eggman at the majority leader's desk.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Now I get to help with honoring all of our guests. But first, I would like to introduce, as you heard her eloquent words already, our Senate Pro Tem President, Tony Atkins.

Thank you very much to my colleague from Stockton. It is my honor to introduce my Pride Month honoree, Janessa Goldbeck. Janessa has built her career around creating a safer and more equitable world for all. Currently acting as the CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes veterans and military families to have a voice in our democracy. She proudly served in the United States Marines. And I want to thank you for that service, Janessa. And with that, next up after me will be my colleague from Santa Cruz.

Want to remind. We'll go ahead and clap. And I want to remind that we'll take the pictures up at the podium at the end, we'll take all of the pictures of all of the awardees, then allow the LGBTQ Caucus to be part of it. And then everybody. So don't worry, you'll get your picture. Senator Laird, you are up.

Thank you very much, Madam President. It's my pleasure to introduce Adam Spickler. He is the 2023 Cabrillo College Governing Board Chair, currently serves on the board's Legislative Advocacy and Name Exploration Committees. He's also the first openly transgender man elected to public office in California. Let's congratulate Adam Spickler.

Senator Menjivar.

Thank you, Madam President. Here to honor my honoree, Kevin Al Perez pronouns he/him, and he actually stood with me on Friday in the counterprotest as well. Kevin is currently the president and co founder of Somos Familia Valle, where he hopes to create a safer valley for all our chosen families, queer the 818 as much as possible, and turn up for social justice, and we're doing just that with our first ever march and block party in the San Fernando Valley together. Kevin Al Perez.

Senator Padilla.

I thank the Senator from San Fernando Valley. And thank you, Madam President. It's certainly my honor to introduce our next honoree. Assistant Chief of Police Phil Collum from the Chula Vista Police Department. Assistant Chief Phil Collum is a 32 year veteran of law enforcement and is the highest ranking openly LGBTQ law enforcement officer in San Diego County. Assistant Chief Collum was a trailblazer in his early career as the first openly gay male officer in the department.

He is extensively engaged in the community he loves, including working with Corazon De Vida Foundation, volunteers on a monthly basis to support orphanages in Tijuana, Mexico, and works to enhance police community relationships with a variety of under-representative upper... Boy, Padilla, you're on it today. Underrepresented communities. Not enough coffee. Please make welcome and honor assistant chief Phil Collum.

Senator Eggman. Oh, Senator Wiener, my apologies.

Sorry. Thank you, Madam President. From fighting on the front lines in the war against HIV, to creating the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgences Stop the Violence Campaign, to taking on social media giant Facebook as the creator of the My Name Is Movement, Sister Roma has dedicated more than half her life to community service, act activism, and fundraising. Madam President, permission to use prop, this photo?

Granted.

Okay, so, colleagues, we also our caucus this year awarded a posthumous honor to Heklina, one of our truly beloved drag queen community leaders in San Francisco, who tragically and very suddenly passed away while touring on performance a few months ago. Heklina just unbelievably beloved in San Francisco and frankly, in many parts of the country. She created various spaces where LGBTQ artists and, particularly young queer performers, could get a start. Her loss was just a huge tragedy for the community. So thank you very much.

Senator Eggman.

Okay. Now, next up, we have my honorees, which is my cousin Allen Eggman and his husband, Harry Lit. Alan and Harry created Lazy Bear Weekend, a charity event celebrating people who come as they are and have donated over $2 million to important causes focusing on HIV AIDS and the breast cancer and the Sonoma County Health Services. Please join me in welcoming my cousin and his husband, Harry.

Okay. Next up, we are honoring Adán Chávez, who has over six years of rewarding experiences empowering people and bringing them into the democratic and policy making process. We welcome and honor you. Next up, we have, not a stranger to many of you, Tony Hoang, who is the Executive Director of Equality, California and Silver State Equality, and a veteran of the LGBTQ plus and equity movement, where he has played a pivotal role in advancing equalities for marginalized community. We welcome you, Tony.

Next up, we have Martin Harold Kludjian. John. And John Arthur Schinkel. He/him. Martin currently serves as the Director of the Chair of the City of Fremont Human Rights Commission, where he strives to prevent discrimination and protect the rights of all individuals and groups in Fremont. John serves on the board of the Washington Hospital Healthcare Foundation to help make strides towards better serving and including LGBT plus Q populations. Now up, we have Sue Reynolds.

Sue is a nationally recognized innovator and strategic leader in nonprofit, affordable housing all the way up from retirement. She has led the growth of nonprofit community housing works over the course of two decades. Welcome. Now we have Amber Whittington. Amber's an activist, social influencer, actress, and host who aims to empower everyone through positivity, self love, and self confidence so that they can feel inspired to show their true, authentic selves to the world. Welcome.

Next, we have Valentina, a previous contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, Valentina currently uses her platform to help advance queer rights in Latin America through her work with The Trevor Project MX and Gobierno De Jalisco. Next we have Eugene Lee Yang. Eugene is an actor, writer, and director, and one of today's most recognizable queer Asian American performers, who is well known for their work with human rights and the LGBTQ plus activist campaigns. There was a change from the Assembly. What's that?

I wore the same thing to both ceremonies, I'm bad. Next, we have the world famous Rosie Casals. Rosie initially gained a recognition for her great athletic achievements in women's tennis and later established as Sportswoman, Inc in 1982, as well as Love and Love Tennis Foundation in 2015, both to promote tennis for all, regardless of gender or economic backgrounds. We welcome you, Rosie, and congratulations.

And last but not least, we just want to acknowledge Billie Jean King, who could not be here today, but we're also taking a moment just to recognize her and Rosie, who came up together and really did so much for women's sports. Thank you all.

A big Senate, State Senate, Congratulations to all of the honorees. Another round of applause, please. Now, we're going to invite all of the honorees to please come forward to the front of the chamber for a photo. The first photo will only be of the honorees. Just the honorees. Not my rules, Madam Pro tem.

Now, if we could get the caucus in. Now everybody that would like a picture can get in. Any Senator that would like a picture. Members, we're going to get back into session. If you could take your conversations off the floor, that would be terrific. Members, we're going to move to privileges of the floor. Senator Hurtado is pleased to welcome her mom and dad to the chambers. Please give a warm Senate welcome to Maria and Mel Hurtado. So members, we're going to return to we're going to return to motions and resolutions. This is the time to address our adjourn in memories. Senator Wiener, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, it's with great sadness that I rise to ask that the Senate adjourn in memory of Ethan Boyce, who passed away on April 4 at the age of 44. Ethan was born on November 14, 1978 in Anchorage, Alaska, after he and his family moved to North Carolina, he studied culinary arts at Johnson and Wales University and worked as a sous chef and a chef in both the Virgin Islands and Santa Barbara. When Ethan moved to the Bay Area in the early 2000s, he quickly discovered his passion for cycling. He worked as a bike courier before starting his competitive cycling career as a sprinter. He won 10 USA Cycling National Championships. He held the world record for the fastest 1000 meters time trial among men aged 35 to 39. And in 2018, he set a record for the fastest flying starts. Off the track, Ethan's demeanor was warm and friendly. He was known for his vibrant personality and wacky sense of humor, often wearing obscure T shirts and having googly eyes painted on his racing bike. He was an upstanding Member of the American track cycling community, and to many, he was an inspiration and a mentor, not only because of his cycling prowess, but also because of his determination and kindness. I will say that Ethan died because while cycling, he was hit by a car. And this is yet another reminder that it is not safe. It needs to be safe, and it is all too often not safe for people to be biking. We want more people to bike. It is a sustainable way to get around. It is healthy. It is a good thing and we have a lot of work to do to make California a more bike friendly place and a place where you can bike safely and not be hit and killed by a car. Ethan is survived by his longtime partner Kate Wilson, his mother Penny, his brothers Noah and Jesse, his father Ron, and two nieces and one nephew. Ethan will be greatly missed by so many in the community. May his memory be a blessing. And please join me in asking that the Senate adjourn today in his memory.

Please bring his name forward so he may be appropriately memorialized by the Senate. Senator Rubio.

Thank you, Madam President. And ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, today I rise with great sadness to adjourn in the memory of Maria Marie Contreras. She was a treasurer for the City of Baldwin Park. I knew Marie for 20 years. She served as the city treasurer in the City of Baldwin Park while I was the elected city Clerk. And she was so beloved in our community. She gave so much of her time and so much of her energy with a lot of projects. I also served in sister cities organization with her, and I traveled to Mexico as we donated books and toys and built schools to help the needy across the border. She was just an extraordinary individual. Her husband also has served over 30 years in our community. Just to give you a sense of how passionate they were about helping our community and serving. They were definitely a public servant family. In 1961, after her parents migrated from Sonora, Mexico, she settled in the City of Baldwin Park and she became a staple. Everyone loved her. Everyone worked with her. She was often seen in our church, St. John the Baptist Church, just taking care of everything that was needed. We could all count on her to always do the right thing and just be such a great addition to our community. And the City of Boland Park really wants to thank her for her service. And me personally, I want to just say how deeply saddened we were to see that she will no longer be with us. She really was an institution in our community. So Mrs. Contreras will be remembered by her kindness, just her charitable work and her very vibrant spirit. She will be missed by her husband, Al Contreras, her family, many community leaders, especially in our City of Baldwin Park, and in particular myself. Please join me in adjourning in her memory. Thank you, colleagues.

Please bring her name forward to the desk so that she may be appropriately memorialized by the Senate. Senator Bradford.

Thank you, Madam President. And I, too, rise today with a heavy heart and great sadness and ask that we adjourn in the memory of an amazing individual by the name of Ava Lashay Hamilton, better known as Shay to all that knew her. She was a daughter, a sister, aunt and friend to many, but an amazing public servant. Shay passed away on April 19 after a prolonged but courageous struggle for over two decades with cancer and a variety of other issues. But at no time during her struggle did I ever remember her complaining or asking the question, why me? She gave far more than she ever received. In 2004, Shay founded Angels for Sight in the City of Compton, a nonprofit that provided vision care and eyewear for children, that she was assuring that would thrive and be able to lead us into tomorrow. Shay learned at her early time that many of the kids who were viewed as underperforming or disruptive, especially kids of color, it was because they couldn't see the board, they couldn't see what the teacher was saying. They couldn't read the books. So she was committed to make sure she addressed this problem. She sincerely felt that for a community to be healthy and whole, it must be inclusive in its care and concern for all its members, especially the children, seniors and veterans. She worked with governmental agencies, elected officials like myself, corporate leaders and everyday people to bring vision care to fruition, not only in Compton, but throughout the greater Los Angeles County area. She performed vision screening and dispensed reading glasses on skid row. She hosted annual veteran standdowns events and provided glasses for the men and women who served in the military. She recruited a long list of vision professionals from optometrists to optometrists and countless staff in the vision area and clinics for children. Shay Hamilton was a tireless and unrelenting in her work, and in 2017, I recognized her as my Nonprofit of the Year Angels for Sight for the 35th Senate District. But so happens when she was picked up at the airport that day, my staff was unaware that she was supposed to take her over to the convention center where the program was taking place. And she brought her straight to my office. And upon me getting to my office after a Committee hearing, she was sitting in my lobby and I said, Shay, why aren't you across the street? She says, I didn't know I was supposed to be across the street. She missed the entire ceremony, but she smiled the whole time. I would imagine most folks would be upset of getting on a plane early in the morning, and she was just as delighted just to be there, to be recognized, but that's who she was. Just last year, in the middle of her illness, she organized over 20 volunteers to help with my Earth Day cleanup with Caltrans, and we removed over a ton of trash. And it was because of her leadership that we had the number of volunteers that showed up that day. Shay was a woman of incredible substance and determination and had a smile that would light up any room. And she'll be long remembered by all the children, families, seniors and veterans who received the gift of better vision as a result of her tireless and dedicated work. It is often said that humans possess all the qualities of a dog, except for one, loyalty. Well, you never met Shay Hamilton. She was as loyal as they come. And when the new Angels Recite Clinic opens in Long Beach this year, I'm only saddened that she will not be there. But it will be an ultimate celebration of a life well lived and a woman who will be missed but never forgotten. She leaves her mother, her sister, and a host of family and friends to mourn her passing, but more importantly, to remember her memory and her contribution to so many of us here in California. Members, help me in joining in the memory of amazing individual Shay Hamilton.

Senator, please bring her name forward to the desk so that the Senate can appropriately memorialize her Members. If there is no other business, Senator Mcguire the desk is clear.

Thank you so much, Madam President. To the Members of the LGBTQ caucus. Thank you for such a wonderful ceremony today. The Senate is now adjourned. We will reconvene this Thursday, June Eigth, at 09:00 A.m.

The Senate is adjourned. We will reconvene Thursday, June 8, at 09:00 A.M..