California just made a commitment to an overlooked part of the community | Photo: Unsplash/rawpixel
Governor Jerry Brown of California signed a bill on Friday (24 August), mandating more care for LGBTI seniors in the state.
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin wrote AB 2719 seeking to amend acts administered by the state’s Department of Aging.
According to the bill, an existing law already dictates the Department work with certain Acts. Some of them include the federal Older American’s Act in California and the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act.
These Acts ensure funding and assistance for older Americans ‘in greatest economic or social need’.
Irwin’s bill includes ‘cultural or social isolation caused by sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression’ to factors that can impede an older person’s ‘capacity to live independently’.
She first introduced her bill in February.
Earlier today (27 August), Irwin took to Twitter and thanked Brown for signing the bill.
I’m incredibly thankful to the Governor for signing #AB2719 into law. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer #Californians will now have certainty that the State will continue to take into account their unique circumstances as they age. https://t.co/PZg0Y4t63f
— ASM Jacqui Irwin (@ASM_Irwin) August 27, 2018
‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer #Californians will now have certainty that the State will continue to take into account their unique circumstances as they age,’ she wrote.
A state with progress
This is the latest in a string of actions California has taken to recognize LGBTI people.
Most recently, they became the first state to officially recognize LGBTI veterans. They also declared conversion therapy a ‘fraudulent practice’.
Another recent report named three California cities — Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and San Francisco — as some of the best retirement cities in the United States for LGBTI senior citizens.
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