SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A bill passed the Democrat-controlled California Assembly April 21 that would mandate fines upwards of $150,000 against business owners who refuse to hire cross-dressing or transsexual job applicants. This bill, if passed into law, would apply to Bible bookstores and nonprofit organizations such as local chapters of the Boy Scouts.
The Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 41 to 34 after more than 45 minutes of heated debate. The slim margin was the narrowest required to send the bill on to the state Senate. All votes in favor of the bill came from California Democrats. All Republicans and three Democrats voted against the bill.
The bill was written by homosexual Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The language in the bill would insert a new definition of “gender” into the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act to include those whose “identity, appearance or behavior” is not associated with the victim’s sex at birth.
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