After 16 Year Battle, Hoylman Re-Introduces Groundbreaking Trans Rights Bill

GENDA introduced with 39 co-sponsors, comprising the entire Democratic Senate Conference. It is the highest number of co-sponsors in the bill’s history.

NEW YORK- Senator Brad Hoylman (D/WF-Manhattan), the only openly LGBTQ member of the New York State Senate, released the following statement in response to the re-introduction of the Gender Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) (S1047/A747).

Senator Hoylman said: “It’s 2019 and New York is the only state in the northeast without statutory protections for its transgender citizens, including hate crimes. After a protracted 16-year battle, the Democratic majority will finally be able to shield transgender and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers from discrimination and hate.

The Assembly has passed GENDA for a consecutive ten years under the leadership of Assemblymember Gottfried, and I’m grateful to him for his persistence. Eight years have passed since we’ve brought a single piece of LGBTQ-specific legislation to the floor of the Senate for a vote. Eight long years. But it’s a new day, and a new Democratic majority conference. GENDA’s moment in the New York State Senate has arrived. So let’s roll up our sleeves, get to work, and make history on behalf of all New Yorkers.” 

GENDA would expand New York’s anti-discrimination laws to include the categories of gender identity and expression. It has been defeated in the state legislature along party lines for 16 years following the passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) in 2002. Despite impasse in the Senate, the legislation has passed in the Assembly with bipartisan support 10 times since 2008.

In advance of the debate on GENDA, Senator Hoylman is calling on transgender and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers to share their stories here to ensure they are memorialized in the official Senate records.

###