California
antidiscrimination bill would be toughest in country

The toughest nondiscrimination protections in the country may be enforced in California after the state assembly passed the Civil Rights Act of 2007 on Monday. The bill won by a vote of 42-26 and will advance to the state senate.

The measure, AB 14, strengthens and clarifies 51 provisions in state law to prohibit bias based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

Authored by Assemblyman John Laird, a Santa Cruz Democrat, the act was also backed by gay rights advocacy group Equality California and the NAACP.

Laird said in the press release that the bill is a progressive step for the state and "a significant step forward in filling key gaps in civil rights protections, as well as preventing unnecessary litigation. All Californians deserve the strongest level of protection available in state law--this bill does that for 51 codes that are currently deficient."

This is the fourth antidiscrimination bill authored by Laird, bringing the number of provisions written by him to 108. The previous three pieces of legislation were signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. (The Advocate)