Cuomo Planning Discrimination Protections for Transgender New Yorkers

Taking action on a political issue that has long been stalled in Albany, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday announced executive action intended to protect transgender people from discrimination in housing, employment and other areas.

The governor said he would direct the State Division of Human Rights to issue regulations that extend protections against discrimination found in a 1945 law to cover gender identity, transgender status and gender dysphoria.

“New York’s law will be the most sweeping in the nation,” Mr. Cuomo told the crowd at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, highlighting the planned protections in housing and employment. “Our law covers it all.”


The move by Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, follows years of frustration among those who advocate on behalf of transgender people in Albany, where the State Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, has repeatedly passed legislation to address such issues, only to find it stymied in the State Senate, where Republicans are in charge.

*The Cuomo administration said the plan would be comprehensive, covering all New Yorkers, not just state workers, and would include so-called public accommodation, a broad legal catchall that includes such places as ice cream parlors, hospitals and golf courses."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-new-york-transgender-rights.html?_r=0