Without a doubt, GENDA (the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act) is probably better known by its insidious alias: “The Bathroom Bill.” Countless opponents to GENDA have misleadingly characterized it as one-dimensional question about bathrooms, failing to explain that 1) the bill would protect transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers in education, employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations, and 2) “public accommodations” encompasses much more than the beloved bathroom.
Let’s be clear here: public accommodations encompass nearly every aspect of daily living, including eating, drinking, healing, sleeping, shopping, learning, traveling, and recreation. Many public accommodations may seem evident, such as restaurants, movie theatres, bars, sports stadiums, and shopping centers.
But public accommodations also include vital facilities such as doctor’s offices, dentist’s offices, hospitals, banks, lawyer’s offices, insurance offices, funeral parlors, bus stations, train stations, senior centers, homeless shelters, and food banks, among many, many others.
And without GENDA, transgender New Yorkers can be legally turned away from these facilities and forced to go without live-saving medical care, legal representation, and more.
And the need for protections for transgender New Yorkers in public accommodations is undisputable. Over half of transgender New Yorkers have reported being verbally or physically harassed in public accommodations, which means that thousands of New Yorkers are being persecuted, intimidated, or discriminated because of their gender identity.
We must continue to fight to pass GENDA in New York State. Ensuring that transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers are protected across all aspects of their lives is the first step toward ending the state-sanctioned discrimination based on gender identity and expression.
Check out our GENDA webpage to learn more about public accommodations and the need for GENDA across the state.
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