Sixteen-year-old human trafficking victim Sara Kruzan was sentenced to life in prison without parole when, in a desperate act to escape captivity, she shot her pimp.
What is injustice? This.
This is completely unjust. Please read this woman’s story and sign the petition urging the Governator to release her. Sixteen years in prison for what amounts to an act of self-defense is far, far too long.
(via rightsandhumanity)
Yesterday Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California signed SB 543, Mental Health Services for At-Risk Youth, into law. The bill that allows kids ages 12 to 17 to receive mental health services without their parents’ consent. This is considered especially important for LGBT youth in California as many fear abuse or being kicked out of their homes if they come out. Parents have also refused allowing children to receive mental health care in some cases and now it will be up to the child’s discretion.
Schwarzenegger also signed AB 2199, Repeal of Discriminatory Code; AB 2700, Separation Equity Act; and AB 2055, Unemployment Benefits Equality bills into law.
These measured are aimed at preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. AB 2199 repeals of a section of the California Welfare and Institutions code that instructs the State Department of Mental Health to conduct research into the “causes and cures of homosexuality.” AB 2700 amends the state’s family code, allowing for couples who first registered as domestic partners and who legally married thereafter to dissolve both contracts through a single, uniform procedure, rather than having to file separately to dissolve each individually. Last, but not least, AB 2055 amends the Unemployment Insurance Code, to provide the same unemployment benefits that married couples couples get to imminent domestic partners.
Perhaps there is progress being made?
This is the third time the Governator has been on my dash in like the past week doing good stuff.
SCHWARZENEGGER DECRIMINALIZES CANNABIS
California’s lame duck governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed a bunch of bills into law on Thursday, including one decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce of weed, although you wouldn’t know it. There’s virtually no mainstream media coverage of Senate Bill 1449. The new law takes effect in 2011 and reduces the punishment from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction, that at the most, will cost $100 and as NORML points out, means “no court appearance, no court costs, and no criminal record.”
The governator is a BAMF
Governator is on a roll on his way out of office.
August 31, 2010
We need your help. California Assembly Bill 2012 will increase the amount of jail time a judge may issue to a person convicted of animal neglect. This spcaLA-supported bill passed both houses of the California Legislature with large margins and bipartisan support. Governor Schwarzenegger has less than a month to sign this important legislation into state law.
Animal neglect is a form of cruelty that is more common than beatings, dog fighting and acts of torture. Neglect causes extreme, prolonged suffering—sometimes resulting in death—and is just as serious as intentional physical cruelty. AB 2012 would raise that maximum sentence from 6 months to 12 months for animal neglect. This would make the penalty for animal neglect the same as the current penalty for intentional cruelty.
GIVE A VOICE TO THE ANIMALS!
Please be the animals’ voice and contact Governor Schwarzenegger and urge him to sign AB 2012 into law. You can reach his office at (916) 445-2841 or click here to email. Here is a sample statement:
Governor Schwarzenegger,
As a California resident, I urge you to sign AB 2012 into law. By doing so, California will send a strong message that failing to provide food, water and shelter for animals is cruelty and worthy of serious punishment.
Thank you for considering my view.
Sincerely,
Your NamePlease join me in making a difference for abused and neglected animals.
Sincerely,
Madeline Bernstein
President Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles
Lord knows the California prison system has enough problems—but that doesn’t mean animal neglect should go unpunished! We need increased penalties for animal abuse. Besides, after we all vote yes on Prop 19 and stop putting the stoners in jail, they’ll be able to accommodate a few horrible pet owners. I emailed the governator and you should, too!
In an extraordinary court filing, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked Friday that gay marriages be allowed to resume immediately in California after a federal ruling that the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. The Republican governor filed his brief with U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker before a Friday deadline to submit arguments on whether to continue a stay of Walker’s decision against Proposition 8. “The Administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the Court’s judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California,” wrote Kenneth C. Mennemeier, an attorney representing Schwarzenegger, in the brief. “Doing so is consistent with California’s long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect.”
What? Arnold did this? Isn’t he against gay marriage? I have to say, I’m pretty fuckin’ shocked… and confused… it’s not often a politician surprises me.
Way to go, Ahnold! You win today’s Meghan McCain Conservative award.
Alright, Governator, I’m gonna like you today. I’m still mad about the budget though and the fact that you wanna cut like all our services. But this is good. Maybe you’ll go out on a high note after all. It’s time to TERMINATE THE BIGOTRY, ya’ll.
While he wrote or joined hundreds of decisions on the state Supreme Court, George almost certainly will be best known for his 2008 ruling that struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriage and for a brief period legalized gay nuptials across the state.
I am a little worried about his decision to step down now so the Governator can nominate the next chief justice…
Yesterday, Arnold Schwarzenegger sued for an injunction requiring Controller John Chiang to impliment his order to cut state worker salaries to the minimum wage. Controller Chiang has a response:
State Controller John Chiang filed suit today in an attempt to block Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s order to reduce pay for most state workers to the federal minimum wage during the current budget impasse. Chiang’s suit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, complains that he is being forced to choose between violating Schwarzenegger’s order or violating various federal and state laws.
A hearing should be scheduled fairly shortly; we’ll keep you updated on this situation. The response brings up a number of fairly important issues, such as how to account to corrections employees that are now under federal court receivership, tax implications, and how to actually deal with the excluded class of six unions that have signed new deals. The whole order is something of a mess, with Arnold not really considering the implications. Nothing new there.
This is becoming ridiculous. But good on Mr. Chiang! Thank God the governator is on his way out. His continued attacks on state workers make me sick.
He didn’t mention her name, but in brief remarks at the Los Angeles Press Club’s annual awards gala on Sunday night, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger swiped at Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, calling her proposal to eliminate 40,000 state worker positions “bogus talk” and praising journalists for asking where those cuts would be made.
When the Governator (whose idea of fiscal responsibility is to basically cut Calworks and every other helpful program he can find) thinks you suck, that’s really bad.
The Assembly Health Committee today approved the California Universal Health Care Act, authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). The bill guarantees all Californians comprehensive, universal health care while containing ballooning health care costs and improving the quality of care and delivery of health services statewide.
[…]
The California Universal Health Care Act is nearly identical to legislation (SB 840) introduced in 2007 by former Senator Sheila Kuehl. The California Legislature passed SB 840 in 2008, but it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Heck yes, California! The governator is on his way out. We can make it happen!
Progressive. Anti-religion. Pro-choice. Pro-women. Lesbian. Feminist. 
