California Senator Scott Wiener is one of the state’s most high-profile gay lawmakers. A Democrat, he was elected to office in November 2016. His district covers the whole of San Francisco, along with Broadmoor, Colma, and Daly City.
Wiener, 52, was born in Philadelphia and raised in southern New Jersey. He received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
He moved to San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood in 1997 to work as a litigation attorney, before becoming a deputy city attorney in 2002.
Before his 2016 election, he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He covered the district previously represented by the assassinated LGBTQ icon, Supervisor Harvey Milk.
Since taking office in 2016, Wiener’s authored dozens of bills. His priorities include tackling the housing shortage in San Francisco, clean energy, and mental health.
Coming out about PrEP
Wiener’s legislation often directly impacts LGBTQ people. This includes protecting LGBTQ seniors in long-term care facilities; a law that requires prisons to house transgender incarcerated individuals according to where they’re safest; and SB 159, which allows pharmacists to provide PrEP and PEP without a physician’s prescription.
In fact, he was the first public figure in the country to openly reveal he takes PrEP, announcing he was on Truvada back in 2014 when he was a Supervisor.
Writing for HuffPost at the time, he said, “As an elected official, disclosing this personal health decision was a hard but necessary choice. After all these years, we still see enormous stigma, shame, and judgment around HIV, and around sexuality in general. That is precisely why I decided to be public about my choice: to contribute to a larger dialogue about our community’s health.”
In the face of rising legislative attacks against trans youth, earlier this year he authored SB 107. This so-called trans refuge law will shield trans kids and their families from penalties when seeking gender-affirming care.
SB 107 will be our legislation to provide refuge in CA for trans kids & their families from states that are criminalizing them & MDs & threatening to remove trans children from their homes.
Here’s the language. Our hope is other states will use it too: https://t.co/SOE8P3fn2C
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) April 19, 2022
Targeting meth and the opioid crisis
Last year, Wiener authored legislation to help tackle the state’s meth and opioid crisis, which disproportionately affects LGBTQ and Black communities. The Recovery Incentives Act (SB110) would give those struggling with drugs financial rewards if they enter substance use treatment programs and remain drug-free.
Related: California senator pushes to tackle state’s meth crisis with groundbreaking treatment
The bill passed with unanimous, bipartisan support but was vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom last October. Newsom called it “premature,” and announced a pilot project to evaluate its potential benefits. Wiener was “deeply disappointed” by the veto.
“So many people across California are dying from meth overdoses,” Wiener said. “And they’re dying right now. Time is of the essence. We know from more than a decade of data and experience that contingency management is highly effective in helping people stop using meth … and we don’t need pilot programs to tell us that.”
It’s a setback, but it’s an issue Wiener is not giving up.
He’s currently championing another bill that would create sites where people could legally take drugs under supervision, to minimize overdose deaths.
The concept has been enacted successfully in other countries, and Wiener believes anything that reduces death is a good thing, even if some Republican lawmakers accuse the legislation of “enabling addiction.”
Wiener points to two “safe consumption sites” operating in New York City. In just a few weeks, over 60 potential overdose-related deaths have been prevented.
“This is one way to help keep people safe and to actually help people get into treatment,” Wiener told AP last week.
Our bill to authorize safe consumption sites in San Francisco, Los Angeles & Oakland (SB 57) just passed its final committee & now heads to the full Assembly.
Safe consumption sites are a proven strategy to reduce overdose deaths & infections & help get people into recovery.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 1, 2022
We’re proud of Wiener for repeatedly showing he’s not afraid to explore bold solutions when it comes to what some regard as controversial issues, especially when the lives of LGBTQ people are at stake.
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Frank Kameny
SDR94103
“Scott Wiener is following in Harvey Milk’s footsteps”
You people are hysterical, this must be a joke.
bowlingbutch
I can only guess the only people talked to for this article were his supporters and not anyone who has been rudely turned away when having a conflict and needing assistance. He doesn’t care about homeless people poor people or people really in need. He is no more like Harvey Milk than Donald Trump. Queerty needs to talk to real people, not just “fans”
CNY1983
anyway you want to attack it i wish there were more of US like him, a divided house will soon fall…
winemaker
Scotty wee wee, just another lying progressive on the take and give nothing back other than lip service and the finger behind his back liberal ‘do as I say and not as I do typical politician. Talk to the people in his former district and you’ll get an earful of his bullshit and sit on his ass non action on issues like neighborhood homeless tent camps, crime and affordable housing. The same can be said of raffie mandelman and for the record all he stooges on the board of ‘stupidvisors’ doing little to nothing to deal with the important issues that have festered for years and we all know what they are.. BTW who in their right mind keeps these do nothing for the residents other than give lip service, the blow off and finger behind their backs suck ups in office?
bhartland
Here is the dangerous part. Our legislators are passing laws that people like Scott Wiener are drafting. Then as it becomes a law the legislators lose their control over the law and it becomes local law enforcements job to enforce the law. Here is the problem. Let’s look at the transgender situation. The legislators have passed the law that your gender identity allows you to access the facilities that match your gender identity. When a transgender person utilizes this law and uses a locker room , nude spa, bathroom or gym shower, a person can simple claim indecent exposure and the trans person will be arrested and charged with a crime. Scott Wiener will claim that the legislators do not enforce the laws, local law enforcement does and unfortunately local law enforcement is very much discriminatory towards the trans community. This therefore leaves trans persons vulnerable to false charges. This is a true story and it has already happened. Scott Wiener is aware of this and does nothing to step in or stop it. It is beyond reckless for our legislators to pass laws that they have no intention of enforcing, in fact it actually seems as though Scott Wiener is setting up trans persons to be arrested….hmmmm!!!
BerkeleyDaddy
Following in Harvey Milk’s footsteps? What an insult to Harvey! Mr. Wiener is a prudish opportunist. He originated an anti-nudity law which was totally unnecessary – – – unless the goal was to make San Francisco like Milwaukee with better weather. The impetuous for his crusade? Wealthy Real Estate interests whined about having difficulties selling grossly overpriced properties if potential buyers saw a naked man walking along Castro Street. He’ll bend over forward to please big-money donors.