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Wednesday, April 7, 2010 – Daily News – 7A California considers repealing law to study, cure homosexuals SACRAMENTO (AP) — Califor- nia lawmakers narrowly advanced a bill Tuesday that would repeal a state law designed to find the causes and cures of homosexuality. The law, written in 1950, classifies homosexuals as ‘‘sexual deviants’’ and requires the state Department of Men- tal Health to conduct research on ‘‘deviations conducive to sex crimes against children.’’ The research would be used to help identify potential sex offenders. The bill moved out of the Assem- bly Committee on Public Safety on a 4-0 vote, with one Democrat and two Republican members abstaining from voting. They said the law’s reference to homosexuality should be removed but that they want the state to continue researching sex crimes. California put the law on the books as a response to public outcry after a series of sex crimes in Los Angeles, which included the rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl. The murderer, who openly confessed his crime, was not gay. ‘‘Even then, there was no legal jus- tification to say that gay people need- ed to be understood and cured in the exact same way as sexual predators who rape and kill children,’’ said Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who sponsored the bill. ‘‘For us to leave it there would be wrong,’’ she said. Lowenthal said California has not conducted research into homosexuali- ty for decades, but did release several reports that examined hormone levels, physical characteristics and parental relationships of its subjects. The American Psychiatric Associa- tion listed homosexuality as a mental disorder until 1973. ‘‘This code simply mischaracter- izes and institutes bigotry against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community,’’ said Mario Guerrero, a director of Equality California, a gay- rights group. Guerrero stressed that his organiza- tion supports child safety and credible research, but not the research that was brought about by the law. The legislators who withheld sup- port Tuesday said they preferred to strip the language about homosexual behavior from the law and leave in the provisions requiring the state to con- duct research into the causes of sex crimes. ‘‘This is probably one of my sad- dest moments as a legislator, because you know where my heart is on what you’re trying to do,’’ said Assembly- man Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, who abstained from voting. ‘‘It’s offensive that somebody 60 years ago would try to include that as a disorder when we know it’s not.’’ Assemblymen Curt Hagman, R- Diamond Bar, and Danny Gilmore, R- Hanford, abstained from voting for similar reasons. Lowenthal said that the research would be better left to universities than the state. TORIA, Mexico (AP) — Thousands of people camped in cars, soccer fields and vacant lots Tuesday as aftershocks from Easter Sunday’s big earthquake kept them on edge. About 25,000 people have been displaced by the magnitude-7.2 quake, most voluntarily, said Alfredo Escobedo, civil protection chief for Baja California state. They are mainly in farming vil- lages southwest of the city of Mexicali, near the epicenter. ‘‘Right now, people are sleeping outside because they’re afraid,’’ Escobedo said. ‘‘They go to work at day and go home, but they don’t want to spend the night inside.’’ He estimated 200 to 300 homes were destroyed in the quake that shook both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, but authorities did not have a precise count. Many of those homes filled with mud and water that seeped up from the ground, he said. The death count remained at two: a 94- year-old man and an unidentified transient. Some 700 aftershocks greater than magnitude- 2.5 had been recorded since the quake Sunday. The largest in the sequence — a magnitude- 5.7 — hit several hours after the main tremor. A magnitude-4.7 shock hit early Tuesday, centered 30 miles south of Guadalupe Victoria. The canal-laden region of farming villages cracked when the ground shook violently Sunday, spewing water through large crevices in the rich LOCAL Continued from page 1A locally and save gas. The only way a local econo- my is going to survive is if we stay local.” In addition to starting a business in Corning instead of commuting she, her husband and their children shop and do as much as they can in Corning. The couple has six children: Melissa, 27; Monica, 24; Sara, 22; Timothy, 19; Michael, 17; and Benjamin, 15. Her daughters helped her decorate her office and her sons helped with the manual labor of get- farm soil and cement floors. ‘‘At this time, we certainly don’t need to be spending the money,’’ she said. Aside from the lawmakers who abstained, no one voiced opposition to the bill. But a group called Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays, also known as PFOX, sent a letter to Lowenthal stating that research into the causes of homosexuality is a legit- imate form of science that benefits both ex-gay and gay communities. The national organization advo- cates for the ex-gay community, stat- ing that no one is born homosexual. They distribute religious and scientific information on the topic. ‘‘Being able to research the cure for those types of emotions is the way we have hope,’’ said Jeralee Smith, the PFOX California Educational Direc- tor, in a phone interview. Smith, 61, believes research into the causes and cures of homosexuality should be continued, and called the move to end funding offensive. Smith said she was molested by a woman when she was 16. She added that she spent most of her life in same- sex relationships, found it very painful, and later reoriented her thought pat- terns to what she called healthier ways. Smith said she doesn’t think sex offenders are predominantly homo- sexuals, but that she doesn’t think they should excluded from research on the topic. ‘‘I just don’t think any door should be closed when we’re trying to stop attacks on children,’’ Smith said. Thousands refuse to go home after quake GUADALUPE VIC- after the 1910 Mexican Revolution. That’s how the Briseno family watched all seven of their homes sink to ruin on a single block, forcing them to sleep in their cars indefinitely. ‘‘The earth just opened up, like a pencil goes across a sheet of paper, like a stripe goes across the floor,’’ said Diona Garcia Briseno, the oldest of five siblings, who lost a home that she shared with her husband and their two children, 18 and 10. Garcia Briseno, 38, saw the ground crack and cough up water as she waited out the quake out- side her home. After the shaking, she went inside to find that her cement floor was gurgling muddy water from underground. It lasted about six hours. ‘‘It didn’t come out with lots of force, but it was constant,’’ she said. Asphalt buckled on streets all around the Briseno family’s tiny farming village of Oaxa- ca, leaving gaps several feet (meters) wide. Dirt crevices that spouted water can be seen almost everywhere, some dry and some now puddles. Raul Lepe, 45, pointed to a 30-foot (9-meter) - long opening that ran across a dirt lot and spewed ‘‘small volcanoes of water’’ behind his clothing store. The floor of his home sustained cracks, forcing him to sleep in his pickup truck until an inspector visits. No one appears to have suffered as much property loss as the Briseno family, whose ancestors were one of the town’s early settlers. Cruz Briseno arrived in Oaxaca as a young man shortly ting it ready. Her hus- band, a 40-year Corning resident owned Tom White Concrete for 35 years, supervised, she said. Having spent many years on the other side of the counter not under- standing things in her own policy, White offers policy consults to help people understand their plans and is also willing to help people find what they need. “No one gets turned away from here without an option,” White said. “If I don’t have the poli- cy or rate that fits what the customer wants, I will find it. I have many contacts both in Butte Raquel Briseno, Cruz’s daughter, divided the family plot on Aveni- da Emiliano Zapata, giv- ing a piece each to four children, keeping one for herself and leaving two for her brothers. The small, cinderblock homes on the dirt road are tight- ly spaced. Farming has always driven the economy. The men in the Briseno family support their households by working six days a week for the equivalent of about $65 in a region where onions, radishes, asparagus and cucumbers are grown. Residents of neighbor- ing Guadalupe Victoria, the closest town to the epicenter, are accustomed to earthquakes but noth- ing prepared them for Sunday’s jolt. Some peo- ple aren’t sure if they’ll ever feel safe again. Sergio Ruiz Escalante, a 51-year-old construc- tion worker, moved his family’s beds outside to the back patio to sleep under the stars with his wife and three children. A fence fell outside his home but there was no other visible damage. He doesn’t know when he’ll sleep inside. ‘‘I need to wait before I can go in with confi- dence,’’ he said Monday while buying batteries in a variety store where ceil- ing tiles hung loose and shampoo bottles still lit- tered the floor. Karla Jaramillo, an elementary school teacher in Guadalupe Victoria, said her school was built about 40 years ago and already survived a big earthquake in 1980. ‘‘I wish the schools would have fallen,’’ said and Tehama counties.” White also said she has a Spanish translator on-call waiting to help customers. Olive City Insurance is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but is available by appointment on Satur- days. Appointments can be made by calling 824- 9900. Information is also available by sending an e-mail to olivecityinsur- ance@yahoo.com ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynew s.com. Jaramillo, 30. ‘‘I wish the kids didn’t have to go inside a damaged build- ing.’’ Alfredo Soria, a 41- year-old lifelong resident, escaped with minor dam- age to his home — a damaged brick fence — but he’s uneasy about going back. The dwelling across the street was also built around 1960 and was reduced to rubble Sunday, and he’s con- vinced his own home will endure a similar fate when the next quake strikes. ‘‘It’s already survived two earthquakes, it’s not safe,’’ said Soria, who is sleeping in his pickup with his three children. The Briseno family doesn’t know where to go next. For now, they are sleeping in cars at the town’s soccer field. The floors and walls of their homes are severely cracked, and thus unin- habitable. Several of their houses have about a foot (30 centimeters) of water and have sunk several inches (centimeters). Palmira Briseno, 31, said cracks spewed muddy water in her home. ‘‘It was like there were fountains everywhere,’’ she recalled. On Monday, about 10 people from the extended family sat under a tent made of wood poles and black plastic tarp, eating chips and chilies. Water that spewed from under- ground inundates their street. Garcia’s 10-year-old daughter hugged her dur- ing an aftershock and fought tears. owns and operates the only on-site crematory in Tehama County. • Your loved one NEVER leaves our care. • For your peace of mind, we personally perform cremations on site. • No hidden charges. If cremation is your choice, there really is no other choice for you than the cremation experts at Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Contact us today so we may answer your questions. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers Funerals • Cremations • Prearrangements 816 Walnut Street | Red Bluff (530) 527-1174 www.chapeloftheflowers.net Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers PASSED Continued from page 1A and left him fearing for the safety of himself and his neighbors. Arguments against the ordinance varied from emo- tional to legal. At least three people threatened lawsuits over the ordinance, all claiming it interferes with state law. Attempts by counties and cities to regulate medical marijuana have been met with similar legal challenges up and down the state, with mixed results. Tom Scott an opponent PAROLE Continued from page 1A Two state lawmakers have introduced a bill seek- ing to maintain parole supervision for inmates convicted of several of those offenses. They plan to announce the legislative language as early as Wednesday. ‘‘These are multiple crimes that the public would be horrified to know the department considers nonserious or nonviolent,’’ said Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, who obtained the list through the California Public Records Act and shared it with The Associated Press. Most of the unsuper- vised releases contained in the corrections department records do not violate the letter of the law, which excludes certain crimes such as rape or inmates with a history of such offenses. But Lieu and state Assem- blywoman Alyson Huber, D-Lodi, want to expand the list of crimes for which inmates would be ineligible for unsupervised parole, saying it will close a dan- gerous loophole. The list would include solicitation of murder, stalk- ing, domestic violence and gang activity. Lieu, who is running for attorney general this year, said he will add more offenses later. The bill by Lieu and Huber would let local law enforcement officials object to releasing specific crimi- nals without oversight. ‘‘Parole supervision has been shown to have a deter- rent effect, and we just removed it for thousands of state prisoners,’’ Lieu said. Oscar Hidalgo, a correc- tions department spokesman, said the releas- es did not violate the law and that lawmakers can makes changes if they want. ‘‘When we say nonseri- ous, nonviolent and non-sex offender, we follow the penal code,’’ he said. ‘‘The Legislature had determined what is a violent, what is a serious and what is a sex offense, not the depart- ment.’’ According to the depart- ment’s records, one of the former inmates released on Is cremation your choice? of the ordinance said it dis- criminates based on income. Scott said he is a medical marijuana patient living off of Social Security Income and cannot afford to pick up and move to another parcel on land.. His marijuana growth has already led him to clash with his neighbors, he said and he fears they will use the ordinance as soon as it becomes effective. Scott said for now, he plans to keep growing. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, exten- sion 114 or gjohnson@red- bluffdailynews.com. unsupervised parole this year had been convicted of oral copulation with a minor, which should have excluded him from the pro- gram under the law. Hidalgo said the specific circumstances of the case led the department to con- sider it nonserious, nonvio- lent and not an excludable sex offense under the law. The case involved consen- sual contact with a 16- or 17-year-old, he said, adding that he didn’t know the age of the perpetrator. Seventeen others had been convicted of statutory rape, 16 were convicted of false imprisonment, seven of battery, three for involun- tary manslaughter, three for burning inhabited structures and one for soliciting mur- der. The law prohibits send- ing the ex-convicts back to prison unless they are con- victed of new crimes. They can be searched at will by law enforcement until their unsupervised parole ends after one year, but otherwise they do not have to report to parole agents. It also gives corrections officials discretion, pro- hibiting the discharge of those deemed to be at high risk of committing new crimes regardless of other criteria. The parole provision is designed to reduce the state inmate population by 6,500 and save $500 million in its first year. It is separate from other portions of the law that also have drawn atten- tion, including early releas- es of inmates from state prisons and county jails. An Associated Press report last week showed that hundreds of inmates being released early from county jails also had been convicted of violent offens- es. California had been one of only two states, along with Illinois, that monitors every ex-convict on parole. The law was projected to reduce the average caseload of a parole agent from 70 to 48 parolees. Because of that, Cate said the law would increase public safety ‘‘by focusing our resources on high-risk offenders, serious offend- ers, violent offenders and sex offenders.’’