Tag: New York state

Posted on

New York Governor Bans State-Funded Travel To Indiana In Response To #SB101

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo missed an executive order today banning all non-essential state-funded travel to Indiana after the Hoosier state passed legislation that opens the door to LGBT discrimination.

The order comes after five openly gay in the state Legislature (Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblymembers Deborah Glick, Daniel O’Donnell, Harry Bronson and Matthew Titone) wrote a letter to the governor today urging him to boycott Indiana’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” and ban state travel to the state.

From the official NY Governor’s website:

“Today, I direct all agencies, departments, boards and commissions to immediately review all requests for state funded or state sponsored travel to the State of Indiana and to bar any such publicly funded travel that is not essential to the enforcement of state law or public health and safety. The ban on publicly funded travel shall take effect immediately.

“New York State has been, and will continue to be, a leader in ensuring that all LGBT persons enjoy full and equal civil rights. With this action, we stand by our LBGT family members, friends and colleagues to ensure that their rights are respected.”

Posted on

Former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, Passes Away at 82

The former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, passed away Thursday, January 1st at the age of 82.

Cuomo, father of current New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (who was sworn into office for his second term today), served three terms in office, 1983 to 1994.

I lived in New York state all of those years, and I remember his handling of the state’s affairs as very solid.

He is especially remembered for his outstanding speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention.

Posted on

New York State Wedding Venue Fights To Ignore Public Accommodation Laws

The anti-gay Heritage Foundation is helping these “for-profit” business owners try to portray their violation of the New York State Accommodations Act as a threat to their “religious liberties.”

If you watch the video, note the carefully crafted language(clearly coached by their lawyer) that gets a bit slippery: Cynthia Gifford repeatedly refers to the property in question as “the farm” or “our home.” The Gifford’s farm is the site of their business, not just their place of abode.

By referring to the property where the business is located their “farm,” the owners of Liberty Ridge Farm make themselves and the property very “homey” and all that.  Very nice.  But it is a business; a business which obtained a business license from the state of New York and therefore must follow the laws of the state.

Don’t operate a wedding venue if folks who can legally marry – like gay people – can’t get married there. Businesses can’t get to choose which customers they want to accomodate.

The New York State laws regarding public accommodation are clear, and you can’t run a wedding venue and decide which legal weddings you do or don’t want to based on sexual orientation of the customers. It’s against the law. Period.

And by the way, while some may argue over whether sexual orientation is or isn’t a “chosen” trait, choice of religion IS chosen. For some folks, they may change from one religion to another to suit a marriage arrangement or some other situation. Choice (of freedom from) religion is a choice. Many experts would tell you that sexual orientation is not. As a gay man myself, I am confident I did not “choose” to be straight or gay. I simply am gay.

One last thing: the lawyer and Cynthia Gifford, in another use of slippery language, seem to insinuate that recording the initial conversation between one of the women looking to book the venue with Ms. Gifford was somehow illegal or nefarious. The laws of New York state make it a crime to record to record a telephone conversation unless one party to the conversation consents (N.Y. Penal Law §§ 250.00, 250.05.)  The person recording the call WAS consenting by making the recording.

Eleven states have laws that require “two-party consent” – but New York state is not one of them.

Watch the video below. It’s very warm and fuzzy, and you may feel for the woman. But they broke the law of New York state. Whether or not she is likable, or you are Christian, doesn’t play into the fact that the law was broken.

Posted on

New York: Gov. Cuomo announces plan to end AIDS epidemic by 2020

At this year’s NYC Gay Pride event, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an aggressive new plan to target and end the AIDS epidemic in New York State:

‘Thirty years ago, New York was the epicenter of the AIDS crisis — today I am proud to announce that we are in a position to be the first state in the nation committed to ending this epidemic,’ the governor said in a statement.

‘New York State has reached an important milestone in controlling the AIDS epidemic, and through this comprehensive strategy, we are decreasing new HIV infections to the point where by 2020, the number of persons living with HIV in New York State will be reduced for the first time,’ Cuomo continued.

The proposition has three parts: 1) identifying those with HIV who are still undiagnosed and connecting them with healthcare, 2) making certain those who are diagnosed have access to anti-HIV therapy, and 3) ‘providing access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk persons to keep them HIV negative.’

(via Gay Star News)

Posted on

New York State Dept of Health endorses Truvada to prevent new infections

The New York State Department of Health has approved use of the HIV medication Truvada to try to prevent new HIV infections.

From DNAinfo:

After months of anticipation, the Health Department’s AIDS Institute released thorough clinical guidelines for pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, which is a daily dose of HIV medication that people who are HIV-negative but at-risk of contracting the virus can take to drastically reduce their chance of infection.

The drug, known by its prescription name Truvada, can reduce the chance of infection by as much as 73 percent, according to studies funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

However, the AIDS Institute stressed that PrEP alone was not enough to prevent new infections.

“PrEP should not be offered as a sole intervention for HIV prevention. PrEP should only be prescribed as part of a comprehensive prevention plan,” the report says.

The state report recommends that doctors work with community AIDS organizations to identify high-risk individuals who could benefit from PrEP, then after discussing it with them, begin a 30-day trial before figuring out a longer-term plan.

While certainly anything that can slow down or prevent new infections is a good thing, my only concern reading this is people may take the drug thinking they are impervious to infection and possibly take part in unsafe sex practices.

Also, the drug Truvada costs between $8,000-14,000 a year. That’s quite the heavy hit on someone’s budget when condoms are much cheaper and have a better history of preventing infection.

I applaud the expansion of protections and admit I’m not smart enough to have all the answers. I’m just a little wary for folks who may think they have it covered by taking this pill.

Just my .02

Posted on

New York renews push to ban “ex-gay” therapy

In the wake of New Jersey’s passage of banning “ex-gay” therapy for minors, a trio of New York state legislators are renewing the push to ban the practice in New York state.

State Sens. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick say New York pols should swiftly pass a similar bill they introduced earlier this year that stalled in Albany.

“Conversion therapy is among the worst frauds in history and has been discredited by the American Psychological Association and other leading mental health organizations,” said Hoylman, the state’s only openly gay senator.

The New York bill would bar mental health providers from trying to change the sexual orientation of anyone under the age of 18. If enacted, a licensed mental health provider who ignored the law would be cited for unprofessional conduct and subject to licensing sanctions.

The anti-gay Liberty Counsel yesterday announced that it will sue to block New Jersey’s bill from being implemented. California’s bill, which was signed last September by Gov. Jerry Brown, remains on hold due to the Liberty Counsel’s appeal.

(via JoeMyGod)

Posted on

NY Times supports passage of Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act

Editorial from the New York Times:

A measure to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity or expression — the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Senator Daniel Squadron — passed the Democratic-led Assembly in April for the sixth time. There is a good chance it would also pass the Senate, with nearly all Democrats and some Republicans voting in favor. The challenge is getting the bill to the floor for an up-or-down vote before the end of the legislative session, scheduled on June 20.

Senator Jeffrey Klein, the Democratic leader in the Senate’s coalition leadership, must insist on a vote. He should tell Senator Dean Skelos, the coalition’s Republican leader, that bottling up bills like this one is not part of their power-sharing deal. It would help if Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a supporter of the bill, would commit political capital to enacting the legislation before the session ends. Sixteen states — including New Jersey and Connecticut — and the District of Columbia have enacted anti-discrimination protections covering transgender people. New York should not lag on this important civil rights issue.

Posted on

NY: State legislature passes sweeping gun laws including banning assault weapons

The New York Senate has passed a landmark gun control bill that would ban assault weapons, the NYT reports:

The state Senate, controlled by a coalition of Republicans and a handful of Democrats, approved the legislative package just after 11 p.m. by a lopsided vote of 43 to 18. The Assembly, where Democrats who have been strongly supportive of gun control have an overwhelming majority, planned to vote on the measure Tuesday…

..The expanded ban on assault weapons would broaden the definition of such weapons, banning semiautomatic pistols and rifles with detachable magazines and one military-style feature, as well as semiautomatic shotguns with one military-style feature. New Yorkers who already own such guns could keep them but would be required to register them with the state.

The legislative package, which Mr. Cuomo said he believed would be “the most comprehensive package in the nation,” would ban any gun magazine that can hold over 7 rounds of ammunition — the current limit is 10 rounds. It would also require background checks of ammunition buyers and automated alerts to law enforcement of high-volume purchases.

The legislation would increase penalties for multiple crimes committed with guns, would require background checks for most private gun sales, and create a statewide gun-registration database.

UPDATE: The NY Assembly has passed the measure 104-43. Governor Cuomo has indicated he will sign the measure.

Posted on

Happy 1st Anniversary of Marriage Equality New York!

During it’s first year in New York state, marriage equality added $259 million to New York City’s economy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn said today:

At least 8,200 gay-marriage licenses were issued, accounting for more than 10 percent of the 75,000 wedding licenses issued in New York City in the past year, Bloomberg and Quinn said in a statement today, citing a survey conducted by NYC & Co., the city’s marketing and tourism office, and the city clerk’s office.

Prior to the state’s enactment of same-sex marriage, a report from the State Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference predicted gay and lesbian marriages would rake in $391 million in economic activity for New York State during the first three years after going into effect.

So let’s look at all this: happy, shiny married people, more money for the economy, and no one got hurt.

Where’s the downside here?

Happy 1st New York! Celebrate! More wine!

Posted on

NY: Poll shows record high support for marriage equality

Via LGBTQ Nation: A new poll indicates support for marriage equality in New York has reached 58 percent, the highest in the state’s history.

The poll, released Monday by the Siena Research Institute at Siena College, also revealed a “record low” of 36 percent of New Yorkers opposed the marriage equality. Six percent had no opinion.

Among Democrats and Independents, support was over 60 percent; among Republicans, 48 percent were opposed, although support registered at 45 percent.

“The more New Yorkers learn about marriage equality, the more they support this basic issue of fairness,” said Brian Ellner, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior strategist for the Campaign for New York Marriage.

“We will continue our campaign to educate across the state so that everyone has the right to make a commitment and build a family with the person they love,” Ellner said.

Ross D. Levi, Executive Director at the Empire State Pride Agenda, released this statement: “State legislators who have not supported marriage equality in the past should take note that New Yorkers — including nearly two thirds of suburban voters and a majority of upstate and Catholic voters — clearly believe in fairness and equality for their LGBT family, friends, neighbors and colleagues.”