When LGBT people think about moving away from conservative states, most think of one of two places: New York and California. Both can be very expensive, but there are some places in each state that are actually fairly affordable. This is especially true of California. While cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have very high real estate prices and costs of living in general, other cities are not quite as bad. California is also known for being a very liberal state and as the site of the defeat of Prop 8, one of the biggest battles in the fight for marriage equality.
Legal Issues
Consenting adult laws have been on the books in the state since 1975, when all laws that made consensual same-sex sexual activity were repealed. The state also removed all gendered pronouns for paperwork and civil codes in 1971, but in 1977, the state legislation passed a Civil Code amendment that defined marriage between a man and a woman. Berkeley later became the first city in the state to create a domestic partnership for those employed by the city. The state later began offering benefits to the partners of all state employees in 1999.
While Proposition 22 was passed in 2000 banning same-sex marriages, it was quickly struck down by the courts. However, several months later, the now-infamous Prop 8 was passed. While it was overturned, the fight to do so became a rallying point for the LGBT community, especially those in California.
Adoption
Since 2003, LGBT couples have had the right to adopt in the state. Lesbian couples have been able to take advantage of artificial insemination for much longer—since 1976.
Protections
State law provides for a large number of legal protections, including protecting all LGBT citizens from discrimination in housing, employment, and credit. Sexual orientation is recognized as a protected class. No public utility company or institution can discriminate on the basis of orientation, either. While protections for sexual orientation were added to laws in 1992 and 2000, it wasn’t until 2004 that gender identity was added.
Both sexual orientation and gender identity are listed in the state’s hate crime laws.
Transgender individuals can request a new birth certificate with the gender of their choosing without having sex reassignment surgery, and as of 2014, the death certificate must also reflect their gender expression.
California has been the first state to pass a number of LGBT-related laws. In 2007, the state became the first to allow same-sex conjugal visits to inmates in prison provided the two were married or registered as domestic partners before incarceration. In 2011, the FAIR Education Act was passed, requiring textbooks to include the contributions of a number of different categories of people, including those of the LGBT community.