Oakland moves to protect diverse families

Citizens and experts from Modern Family Institute, AVEN, OPEN, Bonobo Network, and the Harvard LGBTQ+ Legal Clinic gathered at City Hall in Oakland on Tuesday 3/12 to advocate for the passage of a new piece of legislation extending nondiscrimination protections to citizens on the basis of family and relationship structure, which was proposed by Councilmember Janani Ramachandran.

We are thrilled to share that the Committee voted unanimously to move the legislation to a first full vote next Tuesday 3/19 and a final vote in April! Given its placement on the ‘consent calendar’ (meaning it was deemed non-controversial with unanimous agreement among the members present) we are optimistic that the bill will pass.

If passed, this will be the first West Coast legislation of its kind, and will triple the number of people protected on the basis of family and relationship structure. This event is a testament to the coalition’s care, collective effort, and decades of advocacy leading up to this moment.