(photo: @prideagenda)
A new year means a fresh start in the continued fight to further equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) New Yorkers and our families. For us, 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of New York's LGBT advocacy organization, a milestone that parallels an important shift we're seeing as we turn the corner on visibility and enter our second quarter century.
With marriage equality recognized in New York and rapidly expanding to more and more states throughout the nation, the focus is turning to the other important priorities that were previously silenced, but arguably even more pertinent when it comes to life and death issues that impact our community.
The Pride Agenda's number one legislative priority is the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA. This bill, which we've been advocating for more than 12 years, will secure long overdue basic civil rights for transgender New Yorkers, including protections from discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, and when seeking an education and credit.
As it stands, New York is behind more than one third of the country when it comes to including gender identity and expression as a protected class. GENDA saw its seventh passage through the New York State Assembly in 2014, but failed to come to the floor for a vote in the Senate yet again. We'll work closely with legislators on both sides of the aisle, including the nearly 100 we endorsed in the 2014 election season, to advocate for its passage in the 2015 legislative session.
We're also fighting to protect our youth from damaging and discredited conversion therapy, a practice where so-called mental health professionals licensed by the State of New York try to deny a young person of who they are. While the methods vary, none are sanctioned by any medical association – in fact, every major medical association has denounced the practice as harmful – and they are proven to leave lasting harm on young LGBT people who should instead receive affirming therapy if they're struggling to come to terms with their sense of self.
The bill to ban conversion therapy, a version of which has already become law in California and New Jersey under Republican gubernatorial leadership, passed in the New York State Assembly the first time it was introduced earlier in 2014 with resounding bipartisan support. Again, the bill got blocked from coming to a vote in the Senate, but the indication in the Assembly and the number of cosponsors of the bill in the Senate are strong signs that we will see this become law soon.
In addition to protecting our youth and transgender New Yorkers of all ages, we're fighting for greater protections for our families. New York, perhaps surprisingly, has some of the most outdated laws on the books when it comes to family building options. Contractual surrogacy, or having a baby with the help of a gestational carrier, is illegal in New York. The law is the harshest of any state with criminal penalties as punishment for entering into an agreement.
This means families who can't carry a child to term, either due to health concerns or because the household is headed by two men, have to leave their home state to work with a surrogate in a state where the practice is not banned, adding a complex and frightening array of medical, legal and logistical hurdles to an already emotional and stressful endeavor. LGBT couples have to travel to states like Kansas, which don't have basic civil rights protections in place for our community, but which have better laws when it comes to family creation.
In addition, New York law has not caught up with current family dynamics and we're fighting to bring us up to speed. For instance, intended parents have to wait until 45 days after their child is born before they're able to file for adoption if they're not biologically related. That means the child hangs in legal limbo while a sperm or egg donor has more rights to a child they never intended to parent than does the actual parent. Current law also creates harrowing uncertainty when it comes to making critical health decisions at the time of birth, insurance coverage, travel and other legal logistics. We need laws that provide safe and regulated framework so that we can create and protect our families here at home in New York.
As we enter our silver anniversary in 2015, we also celebrate our 20th anniversary of the facilitators of the LGBT Health and Human Services Network. Composed of more than 50 organizations that serve 1.5 million LGBT New Yorkers and our families in all 63 counties throughout the state, the Network delivers care that ranges from medical and mental health services to anti-violence resources and shelters, after school programs, community centers, and much more. We'll continue to convene this important group of groups and advocate for fair funding in the state budget so these organizations can continue to provide critical direct services to our community, which faces disproportionate inequities when it comes to health and safety.
In 2015 and beyond, the Pride Agenda will continue to advocate for the many disparities that impact LGBT New Yorkers with the ultimate goal of one day creating a truly equal and just Empire State.
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Nathan M. Schaefer is the Executive Director of Empire State Pride Agenda; follow Nathan on Twitter @NathanMSchaefer.
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