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发帖数: 19713 | 1 Arnold Signs Bill Aiding Gay Youths
By Andrew Harmon
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER 200909 X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM
In a move hailed by advocates for its impact on the lives of vulnerable gay
youths, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday signed a bill
allowing minors ages 12 to 17 to access mental health services without
parental consent.
Authored by state senator Mark Leno, the Mental Health Services for At-Risk
Youth Act allows youths to consent to treatment without parental
notification — provided a mental health professional deems the individual
to be "mature enough to participate intelligently in the services or when
the youth would present a danger of serious physical or mental harm to self
or others without the services."
Passage of the legislation comes amid a wave of news reports in recent days
on suicides of LGBTQ youths as a result of antigay bullying. Equality
California executive director Geoff Kors called the legislation vital to "
help young people get the care they need before they are in crisis."
"Just this week, four young people took their lives after experiencing
antigay bullying and antigay bias," Kors said in a statement. "We must act
now to provide youth, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
youth, strong support systems, and this bill does just that."
Schwarzenegger signed a total of four bills sponsored by Equality California
, the state's largest LGBT rights group, including repeal of a 1950s
provision in the California Welfare and Institutions code that calls for
research into "causes and cures of homosexuality."
The governor, who leaves office in January after two terms, also vetoed
several LGBT-related bills, however. Among them: legislation that would have
addressed risk factors for violence against LGBT prisoners.
That bill — known as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Prisoner
Safety Act —would have compelled California prisons to assess an inmate's
risk of abuse based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The
provisions were adopted from the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission
standards, of which California has already committed to being an early
adopter.
Transgender Law Center legal director Kristina Wertz told The Advocate that
as a result of Schwarzenegger's veto, "We will continue to wait for these
well-researched, practical standards to be implemented, while we’re still
seeing incredibly high rates of violence against LGBT prisoners." |
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