The City Council on Aug. 14 overwhelmingly approved multiple bills aimed at bolstering training and transparency surrounding healthcare for transgender individuals and the broader LGBTQ community, but more than a half-dozen lawmakers voted against the measures — including a gay Republican who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus.
City lawmakers voted 37-7 in favor of Int. 1056, which requires physicians and nurses who work for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and who work in public schools in the Office of School Health to complete competency training annually regarding health concerns related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics. The legislation was carried by out Brooklyn Councilmember Crystal Hudson, who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus and formerly served as its chair.
Hudson said the bill emerged in response to concerns that school personnel were unfamiliar with new developments facing LGBTQ medical care.
“Despite serving 915,000 children, our city’s public school system does not currently have any requirement in place to ensure medical personnel, like school nurses or physicians, have training in the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ people,” Hudson said during the Council’s Aug. 14 stated meeting. “When young queer people have access to healthcare professionals who understand and affirm their identities, they’re less likely to experience severe mental health challenges and are more likely to receive care that meets their needs.”
Lawmakers also voted 37-7 to approve Int. 0628, which was carried by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and would require the city health department to design signs outlining the rights of transgender patients. The signs would feature information about an individual’s right to be referred to by their “preferred name, title, gender, and pronoun” and the legislation would require the city to work with hospitals to identify the services offered to meet the needs of trans individuals, including gender-affirming care. The city health department would be required to provide guidance to encourage hospitals to post the information in a conspicuous location.
While more than three dozen lawmakers voted in favor of those bills, a group of seven councilmembers opposed both of them: David Carr, an out gay member of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus, and Frank Morano, both of Staten Island; Kristy Marmorato of the Bronx; Joann Ariola, Robert Holden, and Vickie Paladino of Queens; and Inna Vernikov of Brooklyn.
Other bills passed on the same day included Int. 0629, which would require the city health department to report on training provided by hospitals regarding medical care for transgender individuals. Morano was the only lawmaker to vote against that bill, which was also carried by Williams. The public advocate can propose legislation, but cannot vote.
Gay City News reached out to every lawmaker who voted against those bills, but none of them responded to emails or phone calls seeking comment by deadline on Aug. 22.
As city lawmakers prepared to vote on the bills, Williams thanked members of his team, including Kim Watson Benjamin, his LGBTQ and health coordinator, for encouraging him to move beyond his comfort zone on such issues. Williams, a former Brooklyn councilmember whose views on abortion and same-sex marriage have evolved over the course of his political career, has emerged as a strong supporter of abortion rights, marriage equality, and LGBTQ rights broadly.
“I want to make sure I always point out my own journey to give people permission to join the journey to make sure we’re including everyone,” Williams said during remarks in the chamber on Aug. 14. “As a Black man and a man of Caribbean descent, as a person of faith, 10 years ago I likely wouldn’t have been the one sponsoring this legislation, but I’m proud…”
Williams is one of the most visible politicians at demonstrations in support of transgender rights, including earlier this year when he rallied at NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital to condemn the hospital in the aftermath of reports that it was caving to the Trump administration’s executive order targeting gender-affirming care for youth.
In a written statement following the passage of both bills, Williams acknowledged the broader rise of transphobia in recent years and blasted right-wing lawmakers and the Trump administration for attacking the rights of trans Americans.
“While conservative media and lawmakers deny the transgender community’s right to serve, to play, to even exist, to access the gender-affirming medical care across the country, trans New Yorkers are facing preventable obstacles to basic, equitable healthcare of all kinds,” Williams said. “The trans community deserves equitable access to healthcare services, and to be able to receive that treatment without fear of discrimination or the burden of education and explanation of gender issues to their healthcare providers. While we fight the bigotry of the federal government against TGNCNB Americans, we have an obligation to do what we can here at home to confront the inadequacies that stem from implicit bias and explicit lack of training on transgender issues.”
The passage of the three bills drew praise from out Manhattan Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who co-chairs the LGBTQIA+ Caucus.
“With the passage of these bills, New York City is making it clear: every LGBTQIA+ New Yorker deserves dignity, equity, and safety — exactly as they are,” Bottcher told Gay City News. “From our hospitals to our schools, we’re ensuring our trans siblings get the affirming care and support they need.”
When asked by Gay City News whether the mayor supports the three bills, a city hall spokesperson did not directly indicate his approval or opposition to them.
“Mayor Adams has made it clear: in New York City, we will always defend the rights and health of the LGBTQ+ community,” the spokesperson said. “That’s why our administration signed a historic executive order to protect access to gender-affirming care in New York City, invested new funds to enhance LGBTQ+ health care services, and broadened critical support for LGBTQ+ youth. While some states and cities tried to restrict these services, we expanded them. Many of the ‘changes’ proposed here are already in practice at our Department of Health and Mental Hygiene — we always protect every single patient, including transgender New Yorkers.”
Many of the lawmakers who opposed the bills have a record of voting against LGBTQ-related items in the past. Even Carr, a gay man, voted against a resolution on June 30 — the day after Pride Sunday — calling on the State Legislature to “provide the necessary funds to ensure hospital and healthcare provider services for gender-affirming care remain accessible for all people in New York City.” Other “no” votes on that resolution included Holden, Marmorato, Morano, Paladino, and Vernikov — the same people who rejected Int. 1056 and Int. 0628.
In April, a similar turn of events unfolded when city lawmakers approved a separate package of bills intended to protect gender-affirming care across the five boroughs, but several of those pieces of legislation drew “no” votes from Ariola, Holden, Paladino, Marmorato, and Vernikov. Carr was absent for those votes.
