Earlier this month the California Attorney General's office released the latest report on hate crimes in California. It covered hate crimes that occurred in California in 2009. You will find a link to a copy of the report at the end of this article.

The report had good news. The number of hate crimes in 2009 was lower than in the previous year. For example:

- There were 21.3% fewer hate crime events in 2009 than in 2008.

-The total number of hate crime events in 2009 was 1,100, down from 1,397 in 2008.

- The number of victims of reported hate crimes went down 22.2%.

- The number of victims of reported hate crimes went down from 1,698 in 2008 to 1,321 in 2009.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Boyce Hinman

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Sometimes love blossoms in the most unlikely places.

An American may visit a foreign nation and meet and fall in love with someone there. Or it may happen the other way around when a foreign national is visiting our country.

So where should they live? If they are an opposite sex couple that's no problem. They could marry and then the foreign national could move here and get permanent legal residency on the basis of that marriage.

But, for same sex couples, it's not so easy. Road blocks were enacted to prevent same sex couples from using that same tool. However it appears those road blocks may soon go away.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Boyce Hinman

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Last month the US Senate made history by doing something very routine. It approved a judge appointed by the Obama administration, Paul Oetken.

Oetkin was approved for a judgship on a US Circuit Court in New York City. He now has a life tenure on the federal bench.

Oetken is a pretty run of the mill person, except for one thing. He is an out gay person. So far as we know, he is the first out gay or lesbian judicial nominee approved by the US Senate when the Senators knew his sexual orientation before the vote.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Boyce Hinman

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I took a real chance with that article title. For many in the LGBT community the Castro is almost a sacred place.

Some might see this article's title as almost sacrilegious.

But a new study, published by the Williams Institute of the University of California Law School, indicates that that title may be pretty accurate.

In this article I'll give you some of the details from the Williams Institute report followed by a discussion of what the report may suggest. You can see and download a copy of the report by clicking on the link at the end of this article.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Boyce Hinman

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Current California law doesn't require health insurance companies to cover the cost of maternity care.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 551,779 babies were born in California in 2008. According to a report by the March of Dimes, maternity costs range from an average of $7,737 for a vaginal delivery, to $10,958 for a cesarean section delivery. So the failure of health insurance companies to cover maternity costs is a big deal.

SB 155 was introduced earlier this year to remedy this situation. It requires health insurers to cover maternity costs. The bill has been approved, with wide margins, by the Senate Health Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, the full Senate and the Assembly Health Committee.

But on August 25, the bill came to a screeching halt in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Boyce Hinman

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Our state and local governments have serious fiscal problems. They simply don't have the income to pay for all the services we ask of them.

Things are looking somewhat better lately. During the first half of this year revenues from income and sales taxes have been increasing. But revenue from taxes on business profits have not met expectations. That can hurt you.

According to a Bloomberg business report more than 75% of the Standard and Poor 500 companies beat earnings estimates in the second quarter of this year. As a result, many of them are sitting on large amounts of cash.

By contrast, our state and local governments are starved for revenue. As a result they are cutting back vital services.

Many cities are laying off police officers and fire fighters. In some cities, police are no longer sending officers to the scenes of non-injury auto accidents. The reductions in fire and police personnel can put you at risk.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Boyce Hinman

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Recently, large numbers of new people have been responding to our alerts and writing to our legislators.

Most of these new people are from the Bakersfield and Modesto areas. Way to go Central Valley.

A CalComUI member from Bakersfield has been placing our alerts on an LGBTI web site in her area. She says that means 1,600 people see each of those alerts.

It appears that a PFLAG group in Modesto is really telling people about our alerts, and getting their members and friends to write their legislators.

I am deeply indebted to the people of both those communities. Thank you so much for your support.

Hey folks in other areas. Are you going to let the Central Valley leave you in the dust? Can you do things to increase participation in your areas?

Boyce Hinman

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Assembly Member Gil Cedillo has introduced AB 131. This bill would allow certain undocumented immigrants to obtain student aid when attending California's public colleges and universities.

AB 131 has been approved by the Assembly and by the Senate Education And Appropriations Committees. It is currently awaiting a final vote on the Senate floor.

If approved there, the bill will go to Governor Brown who, earlier, this year signed a companion bill, AB 130.

But some of the opponents of this bill have stooped to a new low.

To read the rest of this article click here.

Boyce Hinman

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