California

Relationship Recognition Information

Statewide Relationship Recognition
no Licenses marriages for same-sex couples.
no Honors marriages of same-sex couples from other jurisdictions.
yes Relationship recognition for same-sex couples: Domestic Partnerships.

  • 2005 As of January 1, California’s domestic partner law expanded to include nearly all rights and also the responsibilities of spouses under state law, such as complete inheritance rights, community property, joint responsibility for debt, and the right to request support from each other upon dissolution of the relationship.
  • 2000 Ballot initiative adopted March 2000. The “Limit On Marriage Initiative,” generally known as the Knight Initiative, passed on March 7, and selectively amended California law to require the state to discriminate against gay people’s lawful marriages while nevertheless recognizing all other out-of-state marriages. Younger voters overwhelmingly rejected the Knight Initiative, and, far from ending the ongoing discussion around gay people and marriage, as the right-wing hoped, public debate, visibility, and support for our freedom to marry continue to grow — with a concomitant sense of inevitability. See California Family Code § 308.5.
  • 2000 California offers domestic partner benefits to state employees.
  • 1999 California creates a domestic partner registry.

Employment Information

Statewide Employment Protections
yes Private employment protections based on sexual orientation.
yes Private employment protections based on gender identity.
yes Public (state) employment protections based on sexual orientation.
- Public (state) employment protections based on gender identity.

See Cal. Gov. Code §§ 12920, 12940, 12926 and 12949.

Parenting Information

Statewide Parenting Laws
Who May Adopt Any adult. Fam. Code §§ 8600, 8601.
Second Parent Adoptions Expressly permitted statewide by Sharon S. v. Superior Court, 31 Cal. 4th 417 (2003).  Statute also permits stepparent adoptions by registered domestic partners.
Notes Law also bans LGBT discrimination against prospective parents in foster care/adoption. 

Cases

Angelucci v. Century Supper Club
(Amicus) Case arguing for a customer's right to equal treatment

Bell v. Wells Fargo Bank
(Amicus) case on behalf of an HIV-positive man fighting for his right to sue for reasonable work accommodations

Benitez v. North Coast Women's Care Medical Group
Case arguing that health care providers’ personal religious beliefs do not excuse discrimination against LGBT patients Issues

California Education Committee, LLC, et al. v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, et al.
Case defending California’s antidiscrimination protections for students and hate crimes laws

Colín v. Orange Unified School District
Groundbreaking case arguing for the right of students to form a gay-straight alliance and to become a recognized student club

Doe v. Chubb Sovereign Insurance
Case arguing against an insurance company's denial of life insurance coverage for the spouse of a man living with HIV

Donovan and Ramelli v. Poway Unified School District
Case arguing that a school must protect students from persistent and severe antigay harassment

Ellis v. Arriaga
Case arguing for equal protections for domestic partners who thought their relationships were registered with the state but were not as California family law provides to people who believed they were married but were not

Galanty v. Paul Revere Life Insurance Company
Case arguing against an insurance company’s denial of benefits to a client living with HIV

Grobeson v. City of Los Angeles
Case arguing that the LAPD violated a settlement agreement intended to protect an openly gay officer from harassment and discrimination on the job

In re Joshua S.
Case arguing for a mother to be awarded attorney fees after winning her right to a second-parent adoption

In re Marriage Cases
Case seeking the right for same-sex couples to marry in California

Knight v. Schwarzenegger
Case arguing to uphold domestic partnership laws despite Proposition 22, California's antigay marriage initiative

Koebke v. Bernardo Heights Country Club
Case in California arguing that businesses that extend benefits to married couples must also extend them on an equal basis to registered domestic partners

Soto Vega v. Gonzales
Case arguing for a Mexican man to receive asylum in the United States after suffering severe antigay harassment and abuse in his native country

All Cases »

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