Equality California applauds CalPERS, the country’s largest public pension fund, for divesting from the Russian companies MegaFon and Mail.ru due to the companies’ links to the neo-Nazi “Occupy Pedophilia” vigilante group, which has posted videos of torture and assault of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Russians on a company-owned social media network.

“Californians raised their voices and CalPERS listened. We will not have our money supporting hate crimes against our LGBT brothers and sisters in Russia, and we are very glad to have made an impact on a global scale,” said John O’Connor, Equality California executive director. “This is a success that we can all be very proud of.”

In March, EQCA launched a petition in conjunction with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, urging the specific divestment from MegaFon and Mail.ru. Last year, EQCA co-sponsored Sen. Mark Leno’s resolution, SR 18, urging CalPERS to divest from Russian companies to oppose the anti-LGBT ‘propaganda’ law.

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization in California. For more than a decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to a state with some of the most comprehensive human rights protections in the nation. Equality California has partnered with legislators to successfully sponsor 96 pieces of pro-equality legislation. EQCA continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org