Wednesday, April 26, 2017

State Senate Kills Bill Extending Human Rights Protections To Transgender NYers



A New York State Senate committee killed a bill today that would have prohibited discrimination against individuals due to their gender identity or expression.

The bill, the Gender Expression Non-discrimination Act (or GENDA), would have included gender identity and expression in the state's list of qualities protected under the state's Human Rights Law, which currently include "age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, or marital status." Though Governor Cuomo issued an executive order in 2015 that included transgender New Yorkers in statewide protections, another governor could easily overturn that order; GENDA hoped to permanently spare transgender New Yorkers discrimination when it comes to obtaining education, credit, employment, housing, and public accommodations.

But though GENDA has passed the State Assembly seven times, today the Senate's Committee on Investigations and Governmental Operations voted against the bill. Six state senators—five Republicans and one Democract—voted against GENDA. Bronx Senator Ruben Diaz, who announced earlier this month that he'll be running for a City Council seat, was the lone Democrat dissenter. Three committee members voted for the bill.

Click here for the full article.

Source: Gothamist (via The Empire Report) 

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