LGBT Caucus Celebrates Opening of the Pride Exhibit In the State Capitol

Sacramento, CA - In a ceremony held Tuesday, the California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus, joined by the Speaker of the California State Assembly, Herb J. Wesson, Jr., and other members of the California Legislature, officially opened the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Exhibit in the rotunda of the State Capitol.

The exhibit is sponsored by the Speaker of the California State Assembly, Herb J. Wesson, Jr., President pro Tempore of the Senate, John Burton, and the California Legislative LGBT Caucus.  For the second year in a row, Lavender Library, Archives and Cultural Exchange (LLACE), under the direction of LLACE Curator John Mello and coordination of Sam Catalano, designed the exhibit, which will be on display for the whole month of June.

"The LGBT Caucus commends LLACE for presenting this historic exhibit in our State Capitol," said Christine Kehoe, Speaker pro Tempore of the California State Assembly and chair of the LGBT Caucus.  "This exhibit gives thousands of people who visit the State Capitol with a great opportunity to better understand the lives of LGBT people everywhere.  It illustrates, marked with both joys and sorrows, our collective journey toward dignity, understanding, and mutual respect for all people, while recognizing that we still have a long way to go in overcoming prejudice and discrimination that LGBT people face everyday."

The exhibit is believed to be the first of its kind in any state capitol in the nation. It shows a timeline of events that impact the LGBT communities around the country.  The exhibit also contains the biography and vision of each member of the Legislative LGBT Caucus.  The members are Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Christine Kehoe (Chair), Senator Sheila James Kuehl, and Assemblymembers Jackie Goldberg, John Laird and Mark Leno.

At the ceremony, Governor Gray Davis' Deputy Chief of Staff and Cabinet Secretary, Daniel Zingale unveiled the Governor's proclamation designating June 2003 as "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month."

The California Legislative LGBT Caucus was originally formed in June 2002. The caucus’ role is to present a forum for the California Legislature to discuss issues that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Californians and to further the goal of equality and justice for all Californians.  The LGBT Caucus’ formation made California the first state in the country to recognize an official caucus of openly-LGBT state legislators.

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