Oakland steps toward removing 1879 law against cross-dressing
By Kelly Rayburn
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 05/04/2010 04:06:39 PM PDT
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_15016428OAKLAND — More than 130 years after city leaders made it illegal to appear in public dressed "in the attire of a person of the opposite sex," Oakland moved Tuesday toward taking a little-known ordinance against cross-dressing off its books.
In a first vote on the matter, City Council members approved removing the language in question from Oakland's municipal code. City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan called it an important move given how such ordinances have been used in the past.
"These laws have a history of being used as a tool of oppression," said Kaplan, Oakland's first openly lesbian elected official.