# California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus

The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus (formerly the California Legislative LGBT Caucus) is an American political organization formed in June 2002 and composed of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the California State Legislature. The caucus currently has 13 members, a record high.
This group is contrasted to other LGBT Equality Caucuses in that the California caucus consists entirely of LGBT legislators while other LGBT Equality Caucuses consist of all orientations. Both, however, promote the promulgation of LGBT-affirming laws within the legislature.

## Role

The caucus was established to champion legislation that advances equality and the rights of LGBT Californians. Its members have introduced and passed numerous measures related to gay rights, including two same-sex marriage bills (both vetoed by the governor), bills prohibiting discrimination in state government, tackling orientation-based bullying in schools and adequately funding HIV/AIDS treatment. In December 2008, in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8, members of the LGBTQ Caucus pushed a resolution expressing the legislature's opinion that the proposition was unconstitutional.
In addition, the caucus sponsors an annual LGBT Pride Exhibit every June and presents the LGBT Pride Recognition Awards to outstanding Californians. In 2006, several Republican legislators boycotted the awards ceremony, walking off the Assembly floor as the awards were presented. This boycott stalled the ceremony for several years until 2009 when it was resurrected. In each year since, many Republicans have boycotted the ceremony.

## Feature in a documentary

A 2016 documentary film, Political Animals, by Jonah Markowitz features the accomplishments of California legislators Carole Migden, Sheila Kuehl, Jackie Goldberg, and Christine Kehoe.

## Members

27 openly LGBT people have served in the legislature and been members of the caucus – all gay or lesbian and Democrats. 13 of them are current office holders.
In addition, there have been two gay members of the legislature who, despite being open about their sexual orientation, were not members of the caucus. Republican state senator Roy Ashburn from Kern County came out in March 2010 after having been arrested while driving under the influence on his way home from a gay bar. He served the remaining eight months of his term but did not join the caucus. Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, also openly gay, did not join the caucus after being elected in 2024.
There have also been members of the legislature who, though not open about their sexuality at the time they served in public office, subsequently declared themselves gay or lesbian. Dennis Mangers, who represented Orange County in the Assembly from 1976 to 1980, married his partner of 17 years, Michael Sestak, in June 2008. Art Torres, who served 8 years in the Assembly and 12 in the State Senate before going on to spend 13 years as chair of the California Democratic Party, came out publicly in April 2009.

### Current members

| Name | Residence | Party | Years in Assembly | Years in Senate |
| John Laird | Santa Cruz | Democratic | 2002—2008 | 2020—present |
| Sabrina Cervantes | Eastvale | Democratic | 2016—2024 | 2024—present |
| Scott Wiener | San Francisco | Democratic | — | 2016—present |
| Chris Ward | San Diego | Democratic | 2020—present | — |
| Alex Lee | San Jose | Democratic | 2020–present | — |
| Corey Jackson | Perris | Democratic | 2022–present | — |
| Rick Chavez Zbur | West Hollywood | Democratic | 2022—present | — |
| Caroline Menjivar | San Fernando Valley | Democratic | — | 2022—present |
| Steve Padilla | Chula Vista | Democratic | — | 2022—present |
| Jose Solache | Lynwood, California | Democratic | 2024—present | — |
| Mark González | West Hollywood | Democratic | 2024—present | — |
| Sade Elhawary | West Hollywood | Democratic | 2024—present | — |
| Christopher Cabaldon | Davis | Democratic | — | 2024—present |

### Former members

| Name | Residence | Party | Years in Assembly | Years in Senate |
| Sheila Kuehl | Santa Monica | Democratic | 1994–2000 | 2000–2008 |
| Carole Migden | San Francisco | Democratic | 1996–2002 | 2004–2008 |
| Christine Kehoe | San Diego | Democratic | 2000–2004 | 2004–2012 |
| Jackie Goldberg | Los Angeles | Democratic | 2000–2006 | — |
| Tom Ammiano | San Francisco | Democratic | 2008–2014 | — |
| John Pérez | Los Angeles | Democratic | 2008–2014 | — |
| Mark Leno | San Francisco | Democratic | 2002–2008 | 2008–2016 |
| Rich Gordon | Menlo Park | Democratic | 2010–2016 | — |
| Ricardo Lara | Bell Gardens | Democratic | 2010–2012 | 2012–2019 |
| Cathleen Galgiani | Livingston | Democratic | 2006–2012 | 2012–2020 |
| Todd Gloria | San Diego | Democratic | 2016–2020 | — |
| Toni Atkins | San Diego | Democratic | 2010–2016 | 2016–2024 |
| Susan Eggman | Stockton | Democratic | 2012–2020 | 2020–2024 |
| Evan Low | Campbell | Democratic | 2014–2024 | — |

### Chronology of openly LGBT legislators

The table below shows members of the legislature who were openly LGBT at the time they served. It extends back to the election of the first openly gay member of the California legislature: Sheila Kuehl (elected November 1994). The caucus was founded in 2002.
| Legislative session | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Openly LGBT members (in Assembly, in Senate) |
| 1995–1996 | Sheila Kuehl Assembly, 41st district | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 (1, 0) |
| 1997–1998 | Sheila Kuehl Assembly, 41st district | Carole Migden Assembly, 13th district | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 (2, 0) |
| 1999–2000 | Sheila Kuehl Assembly, 41st district | Carole Migden Assembly, 13th district | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 (2, 0) |
| 2001–2002 | Sheila Kuehl Senate, 23rd district | Carole Migden Assembly, 13th district | Christine Kehoe Assembly, 76th district | Jackie Goldberg Assembly, 45th district | | | | | | | | | | | 4 (3, 1) |
| 2003–2004 | Sheila Kuehl Senate, 23rd district | | Christine Kehoe Assembly, 76th district | Jackie Goldberg Assembly, 45th district | Mark Leno Assembly, 13th district | John Laird Assembly, 27th district | | | | | | | | | 5 (4, 1) |
| 2005–2006 | Sheila Kuehl Senate, 23rd district | Carole Migden Senate, 3rd district | Christine Kehoe Senate, 39th district | Jackie Goldberg Assembly, 45th district | Mark Leno Assembly, 13th district | John Laird Assembly, 27th district | | | | | | | | | 6 (3, 3) |
| 2007–2008 | Sheila Kuehl Senate, 23rd district | Carole Migden Senate, 3rd district | Christine Kehoe Senate, 39th district | | Mark Leno Assembly, 13th district | John Laird Assembly, 27th district | | | | | | | | | 5 (2, 3) |
| 2009–2010 | John Pérez Assembly, 46th district | Tom Ammiano Assembly, 13th district | Christine Kehoe Senate, 39th district | Roy Ashburn Senate, 18th district | Mark Leno Senate, 3rd district | | | | | | | | | | 5 (2, 3) |
| 2011–2012 | John Pérez Assembly, 46th district | Tom Ammiano Assembly, 13th district | Christine Kehoe Senate, 39th district | Ricardo Lara Assembly, 50th district | Mark Leno Senate, 3rd district | Rich Gordon Assembly, 21st district | Toni Atkins Assembly, 76th district | Cathleen Galgiani Assembly, 17th district | | | | | | | 8 (6, 2) |
| 2013–2014 | John Pérez Assembly, 46th district | Tom Ammiano Assembly, 13th district | Susan Eggman Assembly, 13th district | Ricardo Lara Senate, 33rd district | Mark Leno Senate, 3rd district | Rich Gordon Assembly, 21st district | Toni Atkins Assembly, 76th district | Cathleen Galgiani Senate, 5th district | | | | | | | 8 (5, 3) |
| 2015–2016 | Evan Low Assembly, 28th district | | Susan Eggman Assembly, 13th district | Ricardo Lara Senate, 33rd district | Mark Leno Senate, 3rd district | Rich Gordon Assembly, 21st district | Toni Atkins Assembly, 76th district | Cathleen Galgiani Senate, 5th district | | | | | | | 7 (4, 3) |
| 2017–2018 | Evan Low Assembly, 28th district | Sabrina Cervantes Assembly, 60th district | Susan Eggman Assembly, 13th district | Ricardo Lara Senate, 33rd district | Scott Wiener Senate, 11th district | Todd Gloria Assembly, 78th district | Toni Atkins Senate, 39th district | Cathleen Galgiani Senate, 5th district | | | | | | | 8 (4, 4) |
| 2019–2020 | Evan Low Assembly, 28th district | Sabrina Cervantes Assembly, 60th district | Susan Eggman Assembly, 13th district | | Scott Wiener Senate, 11th district | Todd Gloria Assembly, 78th district | Toni Atkins Senate, 39th district | Cathleen Galgiani Senate, 5th district | | | | | | | 7 (4, 3) |
| 2021–2022 | Evan Low Assembly, 28th district | Sabrina Cervantes Assembly, 60th district | Susan Eggman Senate, 5th district | Chris Ward Assembly, 78th district | Scott Wiener Senate, 11th district | John Laird Senate, 17th district | Toni Atkins Senate, 39th district | Alex Lee Assembly, 25th district | | | | | | | 8 (4, 4) |
| 2023–2024 | Evan Low Assembly, 28th district | Sabrina Cervantes Assembly, 60th district | Susan Eggman Senate, 5th district | Chris Ward Assembly, 78th district | Scott Wiener Senate, 11th district | John Laird Senate, 17th district | Toni Atkins Senate, 39th district | Alex Lee Assembly, 25th district | Corey Jackson Assembly, 60th district | Rick Zbur Assembly, 51st district | Caroline Menjivar Senate, 20th district | Steve Padilla Senate, 18th district | | | 12 (6, 6) |
| 2025–2026 | Christopher Cabaldon Senate, 3rd district | Sabrina Cervantes Senate, 31st district | Mark Gonzalez Assembly, 54th district | Chris Ward Assembly, 78th district | Scott Wiener Senate, 11th district | John Laird Senate, 17th district | Sade Elhawary Assembly, 57th district | Alex Lee Assembly, 25th district | Corey Jackson Assembly, 60th district | Rick Zbur Assembly, 51st district | Caroline Menjivar Senate, 20th district | Steve Padilla Senate, 18th district | Jose Solache Assembly, 62nd district | Carl DeMaio Assembly, 75th district | 14 (8, 6) |
* Roy Ashburn came out in March 2010, having served since 1996 (Assembly, 1996–2002; Senate, 2002–2010). Ashburn did not join the caucus after coming out.
* Cathleen Galgiani came out in November 2011, having served in the Assembly since 2006.
* Carl DiMaio did not join the caucus

## Chairs

| Term of office | Name | Chamber |
| 2002–2003 | Christine Kehoe | Assembly |
| 2003–2006 | Mark Leno | Assembly |
| 2006–2008 | John Laird | Assembly |
| 2008–2010 | Mark Leno | Senate |
| 2010–2011 | Tom Ammiano | Assembly |
| 2011–2012 | Christine Kehoe | Senate |
| 2012–2015 | Rich Gordon | Assembly |
| 2015–2017 | Susan Eggman | Assembly |
| 2017–2019 | Evan Low | Assembly |
| 2019–2022 | Scott Wiener | Senate |
| 2022–2024 | Susan Eggman | Senate |
| 2024–present | Chris Ward | Assembly |