Gays Get New Rights Today
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

Posted: January 1, 2006 - 121 am ET


(Washington) LGBT communities in several states gain new rights
today.

In California four laws went into effect at midnight, including the
nation's first law prohibiting discrimination against transgender
individuals in health coverage.

The Insurance Gender Non-Discrimination Act, which prohibits
insurance companies and health-care service plans from
discriminating on the basis of gender in the creation or maintenance
of service contracts, or the provision of benefits or coverage.

The Civil Rights Act of 2005 also goes into effect. The law adds
sexual orientation, gender and marital status to California's public
accommodation non-discrimination laws. Some of the businesses that
are subject to the law include shopping centers, mobile home parks,
bars and restaurants, schools, medical and dental offices, hotels
and motels, and condominium homeowners' associations.

The third piece of legislation, the Death Benefits Rights for
Retired Public Employees Act, allows domestic partners of public
employees who retired prior to Jan. 1, 2005, when California's
comprehensive domestic partnership law (AB 205) went into effect, to
receive death benefits if the retiree dies before their partner.

And the fourth law is the Property Tax Reappraisal Exclusion for
Domestic Partners. It provides that a change in the title of
property between domestic partners will be treated the same way a
change in title of property between spouses is treated for property
tax purposes. As a result, domestic partners will no longer face
potentially enormous increases in their property taxes when their
partner dies.

"The rights LGBT Californians will enjoy in 2006 are stronger than
they have ever been," said Geoffrey Kors, Equality California
Executive Director.

"As a result of these new laws, millions of LGBT people in
California will now have legal protections that they lacked in the
past, making California stronger as a result."

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Awsome!