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 NYS Lawmakers Urged To Pass Transgender Rights
Bill
by The Associated Press
Posted: March 5, 2008 - 5:00 pm ET
(Albany, New York) It is time for New York
state lawmakers to pass the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination
Act, or GENDA, the state's largest LGBT rights organization said Wednesday,
pointing to a new poll that shows New Yorkers overwhelmingly support the bill.
The legislation would amend the state's human rights law to prohibit
discrimination based on gender identity and expression in employment, housing,
public accommodations and credit.
It has 71 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 17
in the State Senate and Empire State Pride Agenda said it believes the measure
would pass if it came to a full vote.
The bill
has been voted on in committees in the Assembly the past few years but has never
made to the floor. In 2002, the Senate failed to pass an amendment to the Sexual
Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) that would have explicitly included
gender identity and expression, though it received support from a majority of
Senate Democrats.
Since then, support in the Senate has increased
Pride Agenda said. Governor Spitzer has said he would sign GENDA into law if the
Legislature sent it to him.
The call for the legislature to act comes as the
rights group released a new public opinion survey showing that 78 percent of New Yorkers support transgender non-discrimination
protections
The survey was conducted by the Global
Strategy Group.
It found that only 13 percent would not support
the legislation.
"These findings clearly show that there is
overwhelming support in New York for discrimination protections for transgender
people, said Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle.
"Upstate or down
-- Republican or Democrat it doesn't really matter. There is broad public
consensus that transgender discrimination is wrong, whether it comes from a boss
or a co-worker, a landlord or a restaurant owner, and there ought to be a law to
stop it."
Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Rochester,
Suffolk and Tompkins Counties have already enacted transgender
non-discrimination laws.
Thirteen states also have laws protecting the
transgendered.
"Transgender New Yorkers routinely
face discrimination in ways that impact our lives, big and small, and we deserve
the opportunity to have a job and a home and provide for ourselves and our
families just like anybody else," said Debra
Oppenheimer, a transgender woman and a Board Member of the Gay Alliance of the
Genesee Valley in Rochester.
"All were looking for is some protection from
discrimination to create a level playing field so we can continue to be
productive employees, tenants and citizens."
©365Gay.com 2008
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