Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month Los Angeles!

As L.A.’s next City Attorney, I will focus on making the criminal justice system fairer and safer for all people in the city of Los Angeles, including LGBTQ+ people.  This means acknowledging that LGBTQ+ people of color are disproportionately impacted by criminalization and incarceration and that the City Attorney’s Office needs to be more sensitive and responsive to LGBTQ+ people who may be caught up in the system because of unfair laws or discrimination within law enforcement or in the courts.

As City Attorney, my role in working to right the wrongs of the War on Drugs is to understand that  LGBTQ+ people of color disproportionately use cannabis at a higher rate than straight, cis people, which means that that they have been disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of cannabis. That’s why I support social equity in cannabis in an effort for the City to address the long-term impact that cannabis enforcement policies have had on communities of color.

 

I will work to elevate the stories of transgender women of color while fighting for their justice against the growing epidemic of violence and discrimination they face.  

 

I will have a zero-tolerance policy for housing discrimination that targets same-sex couples, queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming people and will prosecute discriminatory landlords as City Attorney. In a city like Los Angeles where housing is scarce, who you are and who you love shouldn’t prohibit you from living where you want to live.

 

As L.A.’s next City Attorney, I will continue to work to protect the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community against workplace discrimination. LGBTQ+ people should not fear losing their jobs for being who they are and no one should be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

 

My office will employ and be welcoming to LGBTQ+ attorneys and support staff and we will regularly listen to representatives of LGBTQ-led social service organizations and transgender advocates about the challenges faced in the criminal justice system in Los Angeles, domestic violence, workplace harassment and discrimination, and housing discrimination.