Today's vote on AB 1967 marks a significant step towards marriage equality for all Californians. Assemblymember Mark Leno's bill would simply ensure that same-sex couples are treated fairly and equally under the eyes of the law when it comes to marriage.

The ACLU strongly believes that same-sex couples deserve the same rights that countless other Californians enjoy. Each of the eight Judiciary Committee members who voted in favor of this legislation should be proud of the moral stance they have taken today.

We will continue to work towards marriage equality in California and throughout the nation.

Statement of Ramona Ripston, ACLU of Southern California Executive Director

Tonight the Westminster School Board majority is poised to take action that will gamble with Westminster students' education and well-being. If they continue down this destructive path, dollars will be diverted from the classroom to fighting for their own personal positions in the "culture war" that ring-wing ideologues have declared on those of whom they do not approve. In doing so, these board members have profoundly betrayed the public trust.

The ACLU is watching this situation with deep concern, both for the welfare of students who don't conform to gender norms, and for the education and welfare of every student, all of whom face the consequences of the possible loss of critical funding.

Students whose gender traits don't conform to stereotypes are being sent a clear signal: hide, because you won't be protected here. And all students have, in essence, been told by the board, "Your education and your future are worth less to us than our moral posturing."

Schools should be safe places to learn for all students, and all students and parents have the right to expect that schools are places that clearly and unequivocally prohibit harassment and discrimination of all kinds.

This is a principle so simple and so obvious that stating it hardly seems necessary, but in this case it is. The position of Westminster school board is, simply put, that it wants carte blanche to discriminate against students who don't conform to gender norms. Even worse, it is willing to sacrifice the good of all students in order to pursue this discriminatory course.

The California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000, which was passed and signed into law in late 1999, addressed a serious problem: legislators passed it after hearing the disturbing stories of over 700 students from around the state, who related experiences of harassment and discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender.

These experiences included sexual harassment, violent assault, sexual assault, threats of assault, verbal harassment, and, perhaps most saddening, responses from school administrators that ranged from indifference to ignorance. Today, the problem continues. For instance, our research shows that 53% of students do not believe that their school is safe for boys who aren't as masculine as other boys. And the California Healthy Kids Survey, which surveys 7th, 9th, and 11th graders, showed that the problem of discriminatory harassment is most common among 7th graders.

This school board's commitment to preserving the right to discriminate illustrates precisely why the law was necessary. Every student deserves a safe place to learn, regardless of the biases of school board members. The ACLU strongly urges the Westminster school board to reconsider its position.