Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act

The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) is a proposed New York law which adds gender identity and expression as a protected class in the state's human rights and hate crimes laws, prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and other areas, and providing enhanced penalties for bias-motivated crimes. It was first introduced in both the Assembly and Senate in 2003[1] and has been passed for the 8th time in the Assembly since 2007,[2][3][4] but has never come to a vote on the floor of the State Senate. It was promoted as a priority of Empire State Pride Agenda, which previously promoted the SONDA law, which was enacted into law in 2003.

History

GENDA has been introduced in nearly every legislative session in New York since it was first introduced in 2003.

In 2009, Senator Thomas Duane introduced the bill to the 2009-2010 session of the New York Senate.[5] The bill was referred to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations on 19 February 2009 and then to the Committee on the Judiciary on 21 May 2010.[5] On 8 June 2010, the bill was defeated in the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 11-12.[5]

In 2012, New York State Senator Daniel Squadron introduced the bill to the 2011-2012 session of the New York Senate.[6] Senator Duane had resigned earlier that year. The bill was referred to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations on 31 January 2012 and then to the Committee on Rules on 16 Mar 2012, where it did not receive a vote.[6]

In 2013, Squadron introduced the bill to the 2013-2014 session of the New York Senate.[7] The bill was referred to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations on 9 January 2013, where it was amended twice but never received a final vote.[7]

In 2015, Squadron introduced the bill in the 2015-2016 session of the New York Senate.[8] The bill was referred to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations on 9 January 2013, where it was once again amended without receiving a final vote.[8]

In 2017, Squadron once again introduced the bill in the 2017-2018 session of the New York Senate, with 20 additional sponsors.[9] It was referred to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations on 4 January 2017 and was defeated by a 3-6 vote on 25 April 2017.[10] Five Republicans and one Democrat, Rubén Díaz Sr., voted no.[11]

In 2018, GENDA passed the State Assembly by a vote of 100-43, but once again it did not get a floor vote in the State Senate. The Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, led by Republican State Sen. Terrence Murphy, killed the bill by a straight party lines 5-4 vote. [12]

Separation of Space for Transgender People

Actress, producer and transgender advocate Laverne Cox has traveled to Albany, N.Y. in March 2013 to speak with New York State legislators to encourage them to pass GENDA. One major concern has been bathroom safety, and whether or not transgender people should have access to sex-segregated spaces that are consistent with their gender identities. In Rochester and Albany N.Y., there have been no instances of a transgender person abusing the law and using a segregated bathroom or locker room to harass or perform illegal acts.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2003 Bill Numbers: A8319 (Gottfried)/S4457 (Duane)
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Silver, Sheldon, News Release, Assembly Approves Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, 2012-04-30
  5. 1 2 3 "Senate Bill S2406A". New York State Senate. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Senate Bill S6349". New York State Senate. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Senate Bill S195B". New York State Senate. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Senate Bill S61B". New York State Senate. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  9. ↑ S. 502, 202nd Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.Y. 2017).
  10. ↑ "Senate Bill S502". New York State Senate. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Fishbein, Rebecca. "State Senate Kills Bill Extending Human Rights Protections To Transgender NYers". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  12. ↑ http://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/05/15/n-y-trans-rights-bill-killed-in-senate-committee/. Retrieved 23 August 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Cox, Laverne. "Transgender Freedom Riders: The Fight for Transgender Equality in New York State". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
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