California is seen as one of the most liberal states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights, which have received nationwide recognition since the 1970s. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the state since 1976. Discrimination protections regarding sexual orientation and gender identity or expression were adopted statewide in 2003. Transgender people are also permitted to change their legal gender on official documents without any medical interventions, and mental health providers are prohibited from engaging in conversion therapy on minors.
California became the first state in the U.S. to legalize domestic partnerships between same-sex couples in 1999. Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2008 for five months until voters approved a ban in November of the same year. After the U.S. Supreme Court refused to recognize the legal standing of same-sex marriage opponents on June 26, 2013, the ban was no longer enforceable, allowing same-sex marriages to recommence starting on June 28. Same-sex adoption has also been legal statewide since 2003, permitting stepchild adoption and joint adoption between same-sex couples. On November 5, 2024, California voters passed Proposition 3, a constitutional amendment that enshrined the right to same-sex marriage in the state constitution. The measure passed by 63%. This was the second state to do so; after Nevada.
In 2014, California became the first state in the U.S. to officially ban the use of gay panic and transgender panic defenses in murder trials. Public schools are also required to teach about the history of the LGBTQ community and transgender students are allowed to choose the appropriate restroom or sports team that match their gender identity. Most support for LGBTQ rights can be seen in the largest cities, such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, as well as many cities on the Pacific coast. A 2017 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 66% of Californians supported same-sex marriage. Since November 2022, 10% of the individuals within the California Legislature are LGBTQ members immediately after the elections—a record first for the United States. In July 2024, a newly implemented law went into effect a first for the United States—explicitly banning outing of LGBTQ individuals within public schools.
History and legality of same-sex sexual activity
Prior to European settlement and colonization in the 18th century, numerous Native American groups lived in the region. Among these, many recognize a "third gender" role in their societies (nowadays also called "two-spirit"). Male-bodied individuals who behave and act as women and perform typically feminine tasks are known as yaawa among the Atsugewi, kwit or cuit among the Luiseño, tüdayapi among the Northern Paiute, clele among the Wailaki, 'aqi among the Chumash, wergern among the Yurok, and í-wa-musp among the Yuki people. Female-to-male individuals are known as brumaiwi among the Astugewi and musp-íwap náip among the Yuki. Similarly, among the Nomlaki and the Klamath and Modoc peoples, respectively, walusa and t'winiːq individuals form a "third gender" alongside male and female. The Yokuts recognize similar terms. In the Kings River Yokuts language, it is tonoo'tcim, whereas it is tonocim in the Palewyami language. There were no known legal or social punishments for engaging in homosexual activity in these societies.
Sodomy laws were first enacted during the Spanish period. The general openness or indifference towards homosexuality quickly disappeared with the arrival of Christianity, which has traditionally regarded homosexuality as sinful. In 1850, shortly after having joined the United States, California adopted a criminal code prohibiting sodomy, both heterosexual and homosexual, with 1 to 14 years' imprisonment. Over the following years, numerous people were convicted of sodomy, and the state law was amended to include fellatio (oral sex) and cunnilingus in 1915.
In 1909, California passed a law providing for the possible sterilization of "moral or sexual perverts". By 1948, 19,042 people had been sterilized under the law. In 1950, the state Attorney General issued an opinion that sterilization of inmates for reasons other than therapeutic was probably unconstitutional. At that time, California accounted for the most sterilization cases of any state, having more than all states combined. In 1951, the law was amended to remove "perversion" as a ground for sterilization.
From the mid-20th century onwards, debate surrounding the sodomy law became increasingly more mainstream. A bill was introduced in 1975 to repeal the state's sodomy statute.
In 1972 and 1974, California voters opted to amend the State Constitution's Declaration of Rights to include "inalienable rights" such as "life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy." A consenting adult law for residents over 18 years old, which restricted existing laws on sodomy or oral copulation for same-sex or opposite-sex couples to genuinely criminal instances alone, was passed in May 1975 and took effect the following year.William N. Eskridge, Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America, 1861-2003 (NY: Penguin Group, 2008), 201n, available online, accessed April 9, 2011
Following on from this, a discrepancy involving the age of consent nonetheless continued to exist under Californian law. Up until September 2020, Californian law stated that if an adult was convicted of consensual vaginal intercourse with a minor between the age of 14 and 17, and if the adult was within 10 years of the minor, the judge could decide whether the person should be listed on the sex offender registry. On the other hand, if a gay man had consensual sex with a minor, 14 to 17, Californian law continued to state that he must be placed on the sex offender list regardless. In September 2019, a bill to rectify this unequal treatment was blocked in the California Assembly by Lorena Gonzalez. In August 2020, state Senator Scott Wiener then sought to immediately close this legal loophole within California law explicitly discriminating against LGBTQ minorities. Following on from this, Wiener experienced a period of abuse and harassment directed toward him by certain individuals within the community, including death threats and accusations of pedophilia. In September 2020 - effective from January 1, 2021 - the senate bill (SB145) was passed with a supermajority and signed into law by both the California State Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom that legally repealed the age of consent discrimination discrepancy established from 1975.Bakersfield
Bayard Rustin In February 2020, the LGBTQ civil rights activist Bayard Rustin was posthumously pardoned by Governor Gavin Newsom. California is currently considering a law to pardon gay and bisexual men convicted under the state's historical anti-gay law, similar to the UK's Alan Turing law.
Military records corrected In September 2022, the Governor signed into law a bill that passed the California Legislature to automatically correct military records (during the pre-2011 DADT era) - so that LGBTQ individuals who served as veterans can now legally access military benefits. New York State, Rhode Island and Connecticut have similar laws.
Gay pride rainbow flag California was the origin of the gay pride rainbow flag in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. In September 2023, some education and school districts within California have banned the gay pride rainbow flag - via localities from school boards.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
From the enactment of legislation in 1971 to replace gendered pronouns with gender-neutral pronouns until 1977, the California Civil Code defined marriage as "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary." This definition was uniformly interpreted as including only opposite-sex partners, but, because of worries that the language was unclear, Assembly Bill No. 607, authored by Assemblyman Bruce Nestande, was proposed and later passed to "prohibit persons of the same sex from entering lawful marriage." The act amended the Civil Code to define marriage as "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary." Opponents of the bill included Assemblyman Willie Brown (who authored the repeal of California's sodomy law in 1975) and Senator Milton Marks. The bill passed 23–5 in the state Senate and 68–2 in the Assembly. It was signed on August 17, 1977, by Governor Jerry Brown.
In 1985, the city of Berkeley became the first governing entity in the state to recognize same-sex couples legally when it enacted its domestic partnership policy for city and school district employees. The term "domestic partner" was coined by city employee and gay rights activist Tom Brougham, and all other domestic partnership policies enacted in the state in the years since are modeled after Berkeley's policy.
California has provided benefits to same-sex partners of state employees since 1999.
Through the Domestic Partnership Act of 1999, California became the first state in the United States to recognize same-sex relationships in any legal capacity. As of the California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003 (effective January 1, 2005), same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships performed in other states or countries are considered equivalent to California's domestic partnerships.
Proposition 22, an initiative passed by voters in 2000, forbade the state from recognizing same-sex marriages. This initiative was struck down in May 2008 by the California Supreme Court in In re Marriage Cases, but a few months later, Proposition 8 reinstated California's ban on marriages for same-sex couples. During the time between the California Supreme Court decision and passage of Proposition 8, the state allowed for tens of thousands of marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex couples. Strauss v. Horton affirmed that those marriages were still valid after the passage of Proposition 8. In 2010, a federal district court in Perry v. Schwarzenegger determined that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional due to violations of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered a stay of the judgement pending appeal.
In February 2012, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court's holding in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, although on narrower grounds. Proposition 8 proponents sought rehearing en banc (meaning review of the decision by a larger panel of Ninth Circuit judges) but this was denied in June 2012. The proponents then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit's decision, and it agreed to do so on December 7, 2012. The Supreme Court issued its ruling on June 26, 2013, effectively upholding the lower courts' determination that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional but doing so on procedural grounds without directly addressing the constitutionality of the measure. Two days later, the lifting of a stay by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowed same-sex couples to recommence marrying in California.