The Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee, in advocating full equality for women, is dedicated to the inclusiveness of lesbian rights as a fundamental component of that advocacy. Lesbians are oppressed on the basis of both gender and sexual orientation, and lesbians of color suffer further bias on the basis of race. Lesbians face discrimination in jobs, military service and housing, experience “gay bashing,” and have the lowest health services utilization rates. Among adolescents, gay and transgender teens have the highest suicide rate. Lesbians may lose custody of their children and are denied many social and economic benefits of legally sanctioned domestic partnerships. We strive to foster respect and understanding of lesbians’ sexual orientation and culture and to work for their full equal rights. We support:
- Adoption of all legislative efforts to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression in employment, credit, child custody, housing and public accommodation, and enforcement of current laws prohibiting such discrimination;
- Introduction of domestic partners’ policies in employee benefits’ packages in both public and private sectors and the full recognition of marriage with all its rights and responsibilities;
- Protection for lesbians against discrimination in all parenting situations such as child custody, adoption and foster care; Foster climates that make non-conforming gender expression safe;
- Programs that offer comprehensive sexuality education, support the needs of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) students in the public schools, and promote positive images of LGBT persons in classroom curricula, with special consideration to different cultural needs;
- Education of health care providers about the specific needs of lesbians and development of services for lesbians in comprehensive health, reproductive care and substance abuse programs;
- Broad education of law enforcement personnel in the management of hate crimes and the training of judges and attorneys on lesbian and transgender issues in custody, inheritance and domestic violence;
- Programs and coalitions to educate about, and help defeat, anti-lesbian, transgender and gay initiatives.
