AB101 Veto Riot
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| Date | September 30, 1991 |
|---|---|
| Time | Evening |
| Location | San Francisco, California |
The AB101 Veto Riot was a riot that occurred on September 30, 1991, in San Francisco, California, that was organized originally as a peaceful protest; the gathering was initially proposed by activists Gerard Koskovich and Bob Smith, who were joined by other community organizers just before the event. The riot started as a response to Pete Wilson, the governor of California at the time, vetoing Assembly Bill 101. The bill would have prohibited private employers from discriminating against employees because of their sexual orientation. A year after the protest, in 1992, the bill was passed by state legislature and signed by Pete Wilson.[1]
Many gay organizations including ACT UP had worked to get AB101 through the legislature,[2] with Rob Roberts and Connie Norman participating in a hunger strike.[3][4] These organizations expected the bill would be made law, particularly because Wilson had promised during an electoral campaign to sign it. When he ultimately vetoed it,[5] it was widely condemned as dishonest by the LGBT community of California.
Wilson said he vetoed the bill out of fear that it would be harmful to businesses from potential increases in lawsuits and would make California overall less competitive economically. In addition, he questioned the need for the bill, claiming there were already laws protecting gay employees from discrimination. However, some political observers have argued that he decided to veto the bill due to pressure from religious right organizations and conservatives that he needed the continued support of to help fund his re-election campaign.[6][7][8]
Before Wilson acted, Koskovich and Smith realized that no public gathering was planned to respond to when Wilson either signed or vetoed the bill. In response, they planned an organized assembly by producing flyers asking that people gather in the Castro District regardless to either celebrate if the bill was signed or protest if the bill was vetoed.[9]