NYC Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn Reports to the LGBT Community
July 2013
Dear New Yorker,
I wanted to share with you some of my office's most recent activities on issues of concern to the LGBT community. For further information, please feel free to contact Erik Bottcher at (212) 788-5646. You can also reach him by e-mail at ebottcher@council.nyc.gov.
- LGBT Parents Advisory Group
- LGBT & HIV/AIDS Services Restored in FY 14 Budget
- Self-Defense Classes for the LGBT Community
- GENDA Blocked in State Senate
- Victory! Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA, Proposition 8 Falls
LGBT Parents Advisory Group
In 2009, the NYC Department of Education (DOE) established an advisory group made up of LGBT parents. This was done at my request to help provide a forum where LGBT parents and the DOE can work together to identify and address the unique issues facing LGBT families in our city's schools.
The group's next meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 31st at 6:30 pm at the LGBT Center located at 208 West 13th Street in Manhattan. If you're an LGBT parent of a child in a NYC public school and would like to be a part of this working group, please contact Erik Bottcher at (212) 788-5646 / ebottcher@council.nyc.gov or Jeff Levin, the LGBT Center's Family Services Program Coordinator, at (646) 358-1703 / jlevin@gaycenter.org.
HIV/AIDS Services Restored in FY 14 Budget
I'm very proud of our successful efforts to restore funding to LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations during this year's budget cycle. A huge thank you to everyone who took part and helped make this possible. Despite our city facing significant challenges this year as a result of federal sequestration cuts, we were able to maintain funding for HIV/AIDS and other vital services in the Fiscal Year 2014 (FY 14) Adopted Budget. Among the restorations that we successfully fought for is funding for housing and nutrition services for people living with HIV/AIDS.
For more information on the FY 2014 budget, including a detailed list of groups that received funding, please click here.
Self-Defense Classes for the LGBT Community
In response to recent hate crimes against the LGBT community, the NYC Council and the Center for Anti-Violence Education are continuing to offer free self-defense training sessions around the City to help provide New Yorkers with the important safety tips and prevention strategies they need to stay safe.
The following additional classes have been scheduled for July:
Bronx: Co-Sponsored by the Speaker, the LGBT Caucus, and the LGBTQ Community Service Center of the Bronx
Thursday, July 18th
6:00-8:00 pm
SCAN Mullaly Academy
Mullaly Park, 164th Street between Jerome and River Avenues
Link to flyer: http://council.nyc.gov/downloads/pdf/bxlgbtsd.pdf
Staten Island: Co-Sponsored by the Speaker, the LGBT Caucus, and the Staten Island LGBT Community Center
Thursday, July 25th
6:30-8:30 pm
Staten Island LGBT Community Center
25 Victory Boulevard, 3rd Floor
Link to flyer: http://council.nyc.gov/downloads/pdf/silgbtsd.pdf
GENDA Blocked in Senate
Like many New Yorkers, I'm extremely disappointed that the New York State Senate failed to allow the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) to the floor for a vote during the recent legislative session. GENDA is a critical piece of legislation that would provide crucial protections against discrimination for transgender New Yorkers statewide. Advocates, particularly the Empire State Pride Agenda, put up the strongest of fights and should be applauded. Next year we'll return to Albany more determined than ever to get this bill passed.
As part of the effort to get GENDA passed this year, a majority of the NYC Council sent a letter to the members of the NYS Senate's Majority Conference. A copy of our letter can be read here.
Additionally, my office worked with the Police Commissioner's LGBT Advisory Panel to obtain a letter from the Commissioner stating that NYC's 2002 Transgender Rights Law had no adverse effect on public safety whatsoever. More information on that letter can be found here.
To voice your opinion on GENDA, please contact your State Senator. You can locate your Senator here.
Victory! Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA, Proposition 8 Falls
The Supreme Court's decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) marks a great victory for the LGBT community, for all Americans, and for the dream our nation's founders had when they first wrote that we are all created equal. DOMA barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that were legally recognized under state law, thereby denying federal benefits to same sex spouses.
This ruling will have an immense impact on LGBT Americans, especially in states like New York, where same-sex couples can legally marry. We recommend that legally married same-sex couples seek legal advice on the impact that this decision will have on their marriage, including changes to tax rates, etc. A copy of the full text of the Supreme Court's decision can be found here.
Additionally, here are some resources that may be of help understanding the practical implications of this historic ruling:
DOMA: Get the Facts
http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/doma-get-the-facts
The End of DOMA: What Your Family Needs to Know
http://immigrationequality.org/2013/06/the-end-of-doma-what-your-family-needs-to-know/
This case was not about abstract concepts, but real people. People like Edie Windsor, who, after suffering the loss of her spouse, was forced to pay $363,000 in federal estate taxes. Thanks to her courageous fight for equal rights, young people growing up across America have seen the highest court affirm that they are just as good, just as deserving of love, and just as much a part of this nation as anyone else.
Although our fight for equality is far from over, this was a hard-fought victory and a momentous step forward for us all.
Sincerely,
Christine C. Quinn
Speaker
NYC Council