Taking Offense v. State of Cal.

Opinion of the Court by Guerrero, C. J.

In 2017, the Legislature enacted the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights. (Stats. 2017, ch. 483, amending Health & Saf. Code, div. 2 to add ch. 2.45; hereinafter enactment, or the LGBT Long-Term Care Residents’ Bill of Rights.) The legislation comprehensively addresses issues concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) seniors’ access to, and treatment by, “[l]ong-term care facilit[ies]” — an umbrella term covering entities that provide services ranging from skilled nursing to residential personal care for the elderly. (Health & Saf. Code, § 1439.50, subd. (e).)1 Only one aspect of the enactment is at issue in this court. Health and Safety Code section 1439.51, subdivision (a)(5) prohibits staff at long-term care facilities from “[w]illfully and repeatedly fail[ing] to use a resident’s preferred name or pronouns after being clearly informed of the preferred name or pronouns,” when they do so “wholly or partially on the basis of a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status” (sometimes…