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NY Gov. David Paterson to Sign Comprehensive Anti-Bullying Bill

There is a welcome update to the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), the comprehensive anti-bullying legislation that finally passed the New York State Senate in June after a nine-year delay. Gov. David A. Paterson will sign the long-awaited legislation next week, reports The Advocate.

DASA passed the senate in June after being passed by the assembly every year since 2002. Paterson will sign the bill Wednesday in a ceremony at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan. ... The [law] will protect students on the basis of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, color, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, weight, and disability.

The law would make New York one of more than 40 states with antibullying laws, 14 of which plus the District of Columbia provide inclusive protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The signing will occur as antigay Christian groups like Focus on the Family have seized on the back-to-school season to decry antibullying measures as a way to “promote homosexuality.”

DASA will become New York's first statewide law to include protections for gender identity and expression. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill by a vote of 58-3 and its supporters included one unlikely ally:  The rabidly anti-gay Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr.

Only two weeks before the Senate approved DASA, Diaz Sr. joined the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee and cast the decisive vote to kill the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA. The New York Assembly passed GENDA by a 91-40 vote in March. The vote came with bipartisan support and this was the third time GENDA assed the Assembly.

New York State Senate Approves Anti-Bullying Legislation 58-3

After a nine-year delay, on Tuesday night the New York State Senate passed comprehensive anti-bullying legislation. The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) was overwhelmingly approved and included the vote of one unlikely ally: Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr..

The anti-bullying measure, already approved by the Assembly and supported by Governor David Paterson, provides protections based on a number of categories, including sexual orienation and gender identity. The late evening vote was 58-3, with all three no votes coming from Republicans. The ayes, surprisingly, included Bronx Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., a fiery anti-gay Pentecostal minister, who has been the LGBT community's political bête noire for nearly two decades. DASA represents the first time that the Senate has approved any legislation making reference to gender identity. Yet, just two weeks after the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, in a 12-11 nearly party line split, the inclusion of gender identity in the legislation approved this evening elicited no comment at all during the floor debate.

Only two weeks ago, Diaz Sr. joined the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee and cast the decisive vote to kill GENDA.

Gov. Paterson is expected to quickly sign the bullying bill.

GENDA Dies in NY Senate Judiciary; Diaz Casts Lone Dem "No" Vote

The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA, has once again failed to advance in the New York Senate. GENDA was voted down in the New York Senate Judiciary Committee by only one vote. The lone dissenting Democratic vote that killed the bill? As expected, it was the rabid and intolerant Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr..

From the Empire State Pride Agenda:

"Today the Senate Judiciary Committee took up the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and failed to move it forward by a vote of 11-12. All the Republican Senators on the Committee voted against it, as did Senator Ruben Diaz as the lone Democrat vote in dissent. Some senators raised concerns about the use of bathrooms and other gender-segregated facilities, and a number of senators who voted against the bill expressed a willingness to support it if this issue could be sufficiently addressed. Committee Chair John Sampson promised to take these concerns back to the prime sponsor of the bill, Senator Tom Duane, for discussion."

Diaz Sr is the rabidly anti-LGBT Bronx Pentecostal minister who is the leading opponent of LGBT rights in the Empire State. In May 2009, Diaz Sr. lead 10,000 people to condemn gays and marriage equality on the streets of Manhattan.

Three months ago, the New York Assembly passed GENDA by a 91-40 vote. The vote came with bipartisan support and this was the third time GENDA  passed the Assembly.

Only 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws to protect transgender people from employment, public accommodation and housing discrimination. Seven more states and the District of Columbia protect gays and lesbians. In December, Gov. David Paterson issued an executive order covering state employees that bans discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

WATCH: José Peralta's Campaign Commercial for New York Senate

New York Assemblyman José Peralta debuts his latest campaign commercial in the special election being held Tuesday for the Senate seat formerly held by the disgraced Hiram Monserrate. The spot opens with surveillance video of Monserrate attacking and slashing his girlfriend. Brilliant.

In related news: An editorial in The New York Times notes Monserrate's "campaign appears to be growing uglier by the day" and slams the former senator for his anti-gay rhetoric. Peralta has an excellent record on equality and voted three times to pass the marriage equality bill in the Assembly and voted three times to pass the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act. Monserrate's supporters are now gay-baiting Peralta as the "gay cabellero". Despicable.

If you can, sign up and donate today at fightbackpac.com. Via JoeMyGod, watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...

NYS Assembly Passes GENDA, Passage Uncertain in Senate

By a 91-40 vote, the New York Assembly passed GENDA, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA, which would protect transgender people under the state's Human Rights Law. The vote came with bipartisan support. This is the third time GENDA has passed in the Assembly and unfortunately it has yet to pass in the more conservative Senate.

The Senate bill is being stalled in a committee whose membership includes Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr, the rabidly anti-gay Bronx Pentecostal minister who is the leading opponent of gay rights and marriage equality in the state. Diaz Sr. wants to add "anti-transgender rights" to that portfolio, Gay City News reports.

GENDA currently awaits action in the Investigations and Government Operations Committee chaired by Nassau County Democrat Craig Johnson. Though Johnson is a strong supporter of the measure, he has been unable to overcome opposition by fellow Democrat Ruben Diaz, Sr., a Bronx Pentecostal minister and fierce LGBT rights foe, in forging a majority in the committee where Democrats hold a 5-3 edge. For the moment, at least, the bill cannot move to the floor without the committee’s approval.

Another obstacle in the Senate could be Joseph Addabbo, the Queens Democrat who infuriated LGBT advocates when he voted against the marriage equality bill in December after enjoying "significant gay support" in his first Senate win in 2008. GCN adds: "Curiously, Addabbo voted for the city’s transgender civil rights measure while on the City Council in 2002." The freshman senator is being targeted by gay donors and activists for replacement.

In December, Gov. David Paterson issued an executive order covering state employees that bans discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

Only 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws to protect transgender people from employment, credit, public accommodation and housing discrimination. Several cities and counties in New York, including Rochester and New York City, have similar GENDA laws.

NY Gov. Paterson Signs Order Protecting Trans State Employees

New York Gov. David A. Paterson made a surprise appearance at the New York City LGBT Community Center to sign Executive Order No. 33, which prohibits New York State agencies from "discriminating against any individual on the basis of gender identity and expression." Described as the "broadest inclusion yet of transgender people in state policy" by the New York Times, the order is still limited as it only applies to state agencies and employees.

Though state antidiscrimination law includes gay men and lesbians, it is silent on the issue of transgender people. And while Mr. Paterson’s order will not have the sweep of a statute enacted by the State Legislature because it will apply only to state agencies, gay and transgender rights advocates said it would be a first step toward including gender identity and expression protections in state law. Advocates for transgender people have succeeded in winning broad antidiscrimination protections in a number of cities throughout the state, including New York, Buffalo, Albany and Rochester. But efforts to add similar protections to state law have so far fallen short. The Assembly has passed a transgender antidiscrimination bill, but the Senate has refused to vote on the issue.

The bill in question is known as the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act (GENDA) and would ban discrimination in housing, employment, and credit for all transgender New Yorkers. The governor says its time for the Senate to pass GENDA: "As much as I am delighted to sign this executive order I am aware that my action is incomplete. I still demand that the New York senate take up a gender equality bill and pass it immediately."

Only two weeks ago, the State Senate defeated a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed in New York. The 38-to-24 vote was a harsh rebuke to gay rights advocates.

Twelve states and the District of Columbia have broad laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender expression and/or identity, according to gay and transgender rights groups. More than 100 cities and counties across the country also provide similar legal protections.