More than 700,000 LGBTQ New Yorkers will benefit from the ban on so-called “conversion therapy” programs

New York is now the twenty-first state to add gender identity as a protected class to the state’s non-discrimination laws.

GLAAD CEO: “Governor Andrew Cuomo today reaffirmed what millions of New Yorkers already know: LGBTQ people are born perfect, and our lives should be celebrated – not silenced.”

NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today hailed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for signing the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and a ban on so-called “conversion therapy” practices into law. Today’s bill signing comes ten days after the New York State Legislature passed both policies at the statehouse in Albany.

Now, it is illegal to practice so-called “ex-gay” conversion programs on minors in the state, and discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations against transgender and non-binary New Yorkers will be prohibited.

“Governor Andrew Cuomo today reaffirmed what millions of New Yorkers already know: LGBTQ people are born perfect, and our lives should be celebrated – not silenced,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO at GLAAD. “At a time when the nation is living with a President whose agenda includes turning back the clock on LGBTQ progress, it’s reassuring to have allies like the New York State Legislature and Governor Cuomo advocating for full acceptance for all marginalized communities.”  

According to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), more than 700,000 New Yorkers identify as LGBTQ. New York is now the twenty-first state to add gender identity as a protected class to the state’s non-discrimination laws. And not only has “conversion therapy” been debunked by many health organizations and proven to cause lasting damage to an LGBTQ person, New York now joins fourteen other states and the District of Columbia by discarding this horrific practice. With campaigns like Born Perfect, there is now a grassroots, state-by-state effort to ban “conversion therapy” nationwide.

According to GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project (TAP), the Trump Administration has authorized more than 91 attacks on LGBTQ Americans. For more information about the Trump Administration’s anti-LGBTQ record, go to www.glaad.org/trump.

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