LGBT prisoner bill clears first hurdle

A bill by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) that seeks to create a safer environment in state prisons for transgender inmates cleared its first hurdle Tuesday, March 31 when it passed out of the public safety committee on a bipartisan vote of 7-0.

Committee Chair Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) called the testimony of Shelly Resnick, a transgender woman who served time in state prison, "compelling."

Resnick, 38, a legal advocate for the TGI Justice Project, spoke of her experience as a 19-year-old transgender woman incarcerated at California's Tehachapi and later Kern Valley state maximum security prisons for men.

"I was 19 years old and basically thrown in with prisoners with histories of violence on a level four maximum security facility without regard to my safety needs as a transgender woman," Resnick testified.

More recently, Resnick claimed in February that she was harassed by San Francisco police when she was issued a citation in connection with misdemeanor prostitution charges.

AB 382, the LGBT Prisoner Safety Reform Act, is Ammiano's first LGBT-related legislation. The openly gay lawmaker is serving his first term in the Assembly. The measure would amend the Sexual Abuse in Detention Elimination Act by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the current list of factors that should be considered in the classification of prisoners for purposes of housing.

"While anyone can be a victim of sexual violence in prison, typical victims are young, nonviolent, or first-time offenders. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender prisoners or those perceived to be LGBT are also exceptionally vulnerable to violence," Ammiano testified.

He cited a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation study that found 67 percent of LGBT prisoners report being sexually assaulted by another inmate, "a rate 15 times higher" than the overall population, explained Ammiano.

Miss Major, who uses only one name, was another witness who testified before the committee. Major, a community organizing director for TGI Justice Project, cited a 2007 University of California Irvine study that showed, "transgender women in California's prison system are 13 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in prison, and that half of all transgender women in prison in this state have been raped."

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) spoke of her own personal knowledge of a transgender constituent before moving the bill for a vote.

Alice Kessler, chief lobbyist for Equality California, a sponsor of the bill, was pleased with the committee's action.

"Getting bipartisan support for an LGBT-related bill doesn't happen as often as we'd like," she said. The committee has two Republicans and five Democrats.

In addition to EQCA, Ammiano's measure is supported by Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety, Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice, California Communities United Institute, API Wellness Center, All of Us or None, TGI Justice Project, and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners.

Ammiano told committee members he doesn't know what the bill will cost to implement.

"I'm sure appropriations will have an opinion about it," mused Solorio.

In fact, it is to the appropriations committee that AB382 now moves, to await a scheduled hearing.