AB 101 Veto March in Sacramento
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2024-06-23T10:55:10-07:00
Assembly Bill 101
Assembly Bill 101 would have barred private employers from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation. This would have amended the Fair Employment and Housing Act adding sexual orientation as a protected class. Governor Pete Wilson “Sneaky Pete”, had made promises to pass the bill during his campaign, but ultimately vetoed the bill in September 1991. He is cited vetoing the bill because, “sexual orientation is already protected under other state laws,” and “it would unfairly burden businesses with potential lawsuits and economic competition”.[1] Large riots and protests erupted all through California, especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In October, ACT UP and other gay rights groups organized a march in Sacramento to the State Capitol Building. ACT UP worked hard to put pressure on state officials to move AB 101 through the legislature, with many LGBTQ people giving money to Wilson’s campaign and even launching hunger strikes,[2] therefore it was a shock when the bill was vetoed. A year later in 1992, Wilson signed the Bill into law.
Photos from the march in Sacramento:
Other materials related to protests throughout California:
Citations
[1] Scott Harris and Dan Morain, “Thousands of Gay Activists Converge on State Capitol : Demonstration: Five Are Arrested in Protest of Bias Bill Veto. Colorful Spectacle Shocks Many Onlookers.,” Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1991, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-12-mn-153-story.html.
[2] “Bay Area Reporter 5 May 1994 — California Digital Newspaper Collection,” accessed November 10, 2023, https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=BAR19940505.1.19&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1.
