Sign these bills, Gov. Hochul!
Protect trans rights in New York
The Short Version
My latest op-ed implores
to sign three critical bills protecting access to gender-affirming (and reproductive) care. Join the call and spread the word.The Long Version
My family and I are lucky to live in New York. Beyond lucky.
Last year, New Yorkers voted by a large margin for Prop 1, which established gender identity and expression as a protected class—along with many others—in our state constitution. State law already prohibited discrimination against trans and nonbinary people, but this helped future-proof it. So, at least on the anti-discrimination front, New York State ✅.
Now that we’re back in the city (after a decade in the burbs), we’re even luckier. Unlike so many Dems who have tried to shove trans folks back in the closet—at least when it comes to fighting for their rights—in reaction to the success Republicans had running anti-trans ads in 2024, NYC Mayor-elect
has been a vocal, present, and proactive supporter of the trans community since before anyone knew his name.One of Zohran’s last ads before the election was a two-minute video which told the often overlooked story of trans activist and icon Sylvia Rivera (watch
break down its significance). He name-checked the trans community in his victory speech. Yesterday, he told my favorite instagram personality, Matt Bernstein: “We’re going to make this a city that not only protects trans kids but cherishes them.” That’s the key takeaway, but the video’s funny, too. And trans kids like my 12-year-old really need reasons to laugh right now. (So do the people who love them.)
More importantly, Zohran’s putting his money policies where his mouth is. So, New York City ✅ .
Still, there’s more New York and (other blue states) can do, especially in the face of an activist and anti-trans Supreme Court and continued efforts by congressional Republicans to deny access to gender-affirming care on the federal level. Our state legislature is trying to do exactly that—passing three bills this year to shore up protections for the trans community:
The Shield Law 2.0 would protect providers and recipients of reproductive and gender-affirming care from investigation, prosecution, and punishment by other states.
The New York Health Information Privacy Act would make it harder for hostile states or the federal government to access our electronic health information, like smartwatch, FitBit, and period-tracking app data.
The Hospital Transparency bill would give New Yorkers the tools to find out whether hospitals provide the services we need prior to admission and identify gaps in access to this critical, life-saving healthcare.
However, these bills have been sitting on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for months. She has failed to sign the first despite ample opportunity — and threatened to supersede the collective will of the State Senate and Assembly by vetoing the others. If she doesn’t sign before the end of the year, the bills die.
Enter: my latest op-ed, published yesterday in amNewYork. I hope Hochul doesn’t ignore this, too, when it crosses her desk. I hope she doesn’t ignore all the New Yorkers who’ve implored her to sign. And I hope you join us.
The NYCLU has made it easy to add your voice to the call. Share this post or my op-ed with your friends and ask them to write her. Let’s make the demand to increase protections for New York’s trans community too loud for Gov. Hochul to shut out.
