Equality California

The reports of the death of Equality California (EQCA) are greatly exaggerated, the nonprofit’s new boss tells San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. Like Mark Twain once did, John O’Connor, who became EQCA’s executive director about six weeks ago, is dispelling rumors about the health of the organization. [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by an anti-LGBT group to postpone the January 1, 2013 start of California’s new law banning controversial gay-to-straight conversion, or "reparative" therapy, for LGBT youth. [ Read more → ]

After a year without a permanent executive director, the statewide LGBT lobbying group Equality California announced Wednesday that the board of directors has selected John O'Connor, who currently serves as the executive director of the LGBT Community Center of the Desert in Palm Springs, to fill the position. [ Read more → ]

Two LGBT advocacy groups, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Equality California, filed court papers late Friday seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the new California law protecting LGBT youth from "gay-to-straight" reparative therapy. [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- California Governor Jerry Brown (D) on Friday signed a bill to ensure that women in same-sex relationships and single women can access fertility services on the same terms as women in opposite-sex relationships. [ Read more → ]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Legislation designed protect LGBT minors from what critics charge is harmful and ineffective ex-gay therapy, advanced through a California state Senate Committee on Monday. [ Read more → ]

Say what you will about Bank of America, but they gave their LGBT employees a pretty remarkable gift this week. A phony anti-gay survey backfires in Washington when voters refuse to fall for discriminatory talking points. Turmoil at Equality California with a surprise resignation, and it's all hands on deck right now in Maryland. [ Read more → ]

The opponents of California's Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act — also known as SB48 — on Wednesday conceded that they had failed to gather the signatures required to overturn the landmark bill that requires the historical contributions of gay, lesbian and transgender Americans be included in history lessons and classroom textbooks. [ Read more → ]

Equality California on Tuesday, announced that opponents of the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act -- also known as SB48 -- have failed to collect the required number of signatures to place a referendum on the November 2012 ballot to overturn the law. [ Read more → ]

California’s largest gay rights advocacy group on Wednesday announced it would not lead a ballot campaign to undo Proposition 8, the state’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. [ Read more → ]

A broad coalition of advocacy groups have launched a coordinated effort to protect and educate the public on California’s Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act, the landmark legislation that requires that the historical contributions of LGBT Americans to be included in history lessons and classroom textbooks. [ Read more → ]

California's Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed into law landmark legislation that would require the historical contributions of gay, lesbian and transgender Americans to be included in history lessons and classroom textbooks. [ Read more → ]

Police have arrested a local transient on suspicion of a hate crime for hanging a noose in the doorway of the offices of LGBT advocacy group Equality California last year. [ Read more → ]

Equality California is launching a community engagement initiative to start a discussion on whether to return to the ballot in 2012 to repeal the marriage ban or whether to wait for a final decision by the courts. [ Read more → ]

Gay marriage advocates plan to file an emergency appeal of a federal judge's order requiring them to release documents from the political campaign against Proposition 8 as part of the ongoing legal challenge to California's ban on gay unions. From the Mercury-News: In court papers... [ Read more → ]

A federal judge on Monday ordered same-sex marriage advocacy groups to turn over campaign materials from the election fight over Proposition 8, a move that could prolong the legal challenge to California’s ban on gay unions [...] [ Read more → ]

SFGate.com: Californians, in particular, are watching Maine's same sex marriage vote closely. And some, like Demi Espinoza, Daniel Shad and Gabe Gonzalez, care so passionately about the issue that they're giving up their vacation time to volunteer in Maine to preserve gay marriage there. Each... [ Read more → ]