California legislature passes bill protecting LGBT prisoners
SDGLN
25 August, 2010
http://sdgln.com/news/2010/08/25/california-legislature-passes-bill-protecting-lgbt-prisoners (http://sdgln.com/news/2010/08/25/california-legislature-passes-bill-protecting-lgbt-prisoners)
SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate today passed the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Prisoner Safety Act, AB 633, in a 26-9 vote.
Sponsored by Equality California and introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, the bill is designed to prevent violence against LGBT people in the state prison system.
I am not familiar with these new standards, but if 69% of transgender prisoners are sexually assaulted while in prison, something needs to be done. I can't imagine why Schwarzenegger wouldn't sign the bill into law, but if he refused before, he might well do it again.
Even more regretably, transgendered people are not the only group who are sexually assaulted in the California prison system in heavy numbers.