Statement from New Pride Agenda, Make the Road New York, NY Working Families Party and Alliance for Quality Education on today’s senate education committee vote on S460
Statement from Kei Williams, they/them, New Pride Agenda; Mateo Guerrero he/they, Make the Road NY; Ana Maria Archilla, she/her, NY Working Families Party, Marina Marcou-O’Malley, she/her, Alliance for Quality Education
It is shameful that s460, a discriminatory and regressive bill, would pass out of committee in a Democratically controlled New York State Senate. This bill is an attack on New York’s transgender youth and effectively legalizes discrimination masquerading as fairness. A vote in favor of this bill is a vote to stigmatize transgender students, legitimize discrimination, and hurt our state’s entire education system.
Transgender students already face disproportionate levels of bullying and mental health challenges despite being only 1.5% of the population of 13-17 year olds in the United States. Policies like these send a dangerous message to transgender kids that their identities are invalid or unworthy of respect.
We are deeply disappointed to see some Democratic Senators failing to stand up for all of our kids. It’s worth remembering that this past November, Proposition 1 passed with overwhelming support in each of their districts. Ultimately, these politicians are failing to meet the moment with their cowardly political calculations.
Let’s be clear, we will ensure that this bill never makes it to the floor of either state legislative chamber. We will continue to work to make sure that in NYS, every child is protected from discrimination and honored exactly for who they are.
