The Pride Agenda has a track record of producing - not just promising - for New York State's LGBT community. With the support and participation of people and community groups all across New York, we have won over 60 separate victories on the local and state levels. Many of these advances recognize our relationships and benefit our families and provide direct recognition by government that LGBT families need and deserve the same support that all other families receive. These victories include:

2007

• Passage of marriage equality legislation in the New York State Assembly by a vote of 85-61 weeks after Governor Eliot Spitzer introduces the bill into the Legislature. (June 19, 2007)

• Decision by New York State Department of Civil Service to provide legally married same-sex spouses of government employees with access to medical and other spousal benefits through the NYS health plan, which covers state employees and and 700-plus school districts and municipalities across the state.  (April 27, 2007)

• A record $8 million in state funds from the 2007-2008 fiscal year for LGBT non-HIV health and human services programs.  This brings the total number of state dollars for these programs to $30.156 million since 1998.

 

2006

• Statement by Westchester County that out-of-state legal marriages of same-sex couples will be respected by the County. (June 7, 2006)

• Passage of fair housing ordinance by the City of Buffalo Common Council to prevent discrimination based upon gender identity and expression in housing. (May 2, 2006)

• Passage of a Control of Remains bill in New York State with an improved definition of “domestic partner” to make it uniform with the rest of state law problematic language regarding reproductive choice.  (April 27, 2006)

• $3.746 million in state funds from the 2006-2007 fiscal year for LGBT non-HIV health and human services programs.  This brings the total number of state dollars for these programs to $22.156 million since 1998.

 

2005

• Passage of a bill in New York State that gives same-sex partners the same authority as spouses in making burial decisions for a deceased partner. (June 29, 2005)

• Decision by The City University of New York (CUNY) to treat marriages of same-sex employees identically to marriages of other employees in administering employee benefits. (June 22, 2005)

• Statement by New York City that marriages of same-sex couples performed elsewhere will be treated as 100% legally valid in the provision of all city services where marital status is a factor. (April 7, 2005)

• $2.844 million in state funds from the 2005-2006 fiscal year for LGBT non-HIV health and human services programs. This brings the total for these programs to $18.41 million.

 

2004

• Decision by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg that the City’s five pension funds with over 600,000 members will treat marriages of same-sex couples performed outside of New York State like any other marriage when administering pension fund benefits. (November 18, 2004) release

• Decision by Rochester Board of Education to extend domestic partner benefits to school employees. (October 26, 2004)

• Decision by New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi that the New York State Retirement System, with its 964,000 members, will treat Canadian marriages of same-sex couples the same as any other marriage for purposes of retirement benefits and obligations. (October 8, 2004)

• Passage of a bill in New York State guaranteeing domestic partners the same access rights as spouses and next-of-kin when taking care of loved ones in hospitals, nursing homes and health-care facilities. (August 12, 2004)

• Passage of the Equal Benefits Bill in New York City that requires city contractors to give domestic partners of employees the same benefits they give to spouses of employees, thereby benefiting tens of thousands of LGBT families. (June 28, 2004)

• Statements by the cities of Buffalo, Rochester and Ithaca, the town of Brighton and the village of Nyack that marriages of same-sex couples performed elsewhere will be treated as 100% legally valid within their municipalities. (March - May 2004)

• Passage of a law extending nondiscrimination protections to transgender people in the City of Albany. (April 7, 2004)

• Issuance of an opinion by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer that marriages of same-sex couples performed outside of New York State should be treated as 100% legally valid in the state. (March 3, 2004)

• A permanent change in New York State Department of Labor policy to provide unemployment benefits to a same-sex partner in a committed relationship who voluntarily leaves a job to follow a partner to another locality. With this change in state policy, same-sex partners are now treated the same as married spouses in similar circumstances. (February 9, 2004)

• $2.3 million in state funds from the 2004-2005 fiscal year for LGBT non-HIV health and human service programs.This brings the total for these programs to $15.566 million. (January 20, 2004)

 

2003

• Adoption of a policy by the Rochester school board to protect students from discrimination based upon gender identity and expression. (December 18, 2003)

• Passage of a resolution by the New York State Democratic Committee supporting the right of same-sex couples to civil marriage and promising to work to defeat any measure in New York State that limits access by same-sex couples to civil marriage. (September 22, 2003)

• Passage of a bill that makes New York State colleges and universities safer for all students, including gay and lesbian students, by requiring all institutions to inform every incoming student about hate crimes and the policies in place to prevent hate crimes. (June 19, 2003)

• Passage of a bill that removes the last vestiges of New York's history of stigmatizing homosexuality by eliminating terms like "sodomy" and "deviate sexual intercourse" that are currently used in the state's penal code to describe forms of sexual assault. (June 19, 2003)

• Passage of a bill that extends membership in state-chartered credit unions to same-sex domestic partners credit union members. (June 20, 2003)

• $2.283 million in state funds from the 2003-2004 fiscal year for LGBT health and human services programs beyond HIV/AIDS. This brings the total for these programs to $13.236 million over six years.

 

2002

• Passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) in New York State, which outlawed anti-gay discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation, education and credit throughout the state. After a 31-year battle, New York State became the 13th state, the second largest after California, to enact protections against discrimination for gay men and lesbians. (December 17, 2002)

• Inclusion of questions on bias harassment and bullying in the annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered to students across New York State. This commitment was obtained from the State Education Department after almost four years of efforts to get the agency to collect data specifically on anti-gay harassment in schools. (November 26, 2002)

• Extension of NY State Crime Victims Board benefits to same-sex domestic partners of all homicide victims on a permanent basis. Governor Pataki through an Executive Order first provided these benefits to surviving partners of 9/11 gay victims on October 11, 2002. These benefits can be up to $600 per week to a total of $30,000. (October 17, 2002)

• Approval of a domestic partner registry in Westchester County by the county legislature. The Pride Agenda played a supporting role to local groups in Westchester County, who worked for several years to establish a registry. (September 23, 2002)

• Extension of American Red Cross's 9/11 same-sex domestic partner guidelines to all chapters across the country on a permanent basis. With this action, the Red Cross became the first national relief agency to provide detailed policies and procedures on how to respect and verify same-sex relationships for purposes of determining eligibility for disaster assistance. (August 24, 2002)

• Passage of a bill granting same-sex domestic partners of 9/11 victims the same workers compensation death benefit provided to spouses under NY State law. (June 25, 2002)

• Passage of a bill making same-sex domestic partners of 9/11 victims and their children eligible for NY State's World Trade Center memorial scholarship program.(June 2002)

• $3.778 million in state funds from the 2002- 2003 fiscal year for LGBT health and human services programs beyond HIV/AIDS and the inclusion of the program for the first time in the Governor's Executive Budget, thereby providing a more stable source of funding in the years to come. This brings the total for these programs to $10.953 million over five years. (May 16, 2002)

• Passage of "The September 11th Victims and Families Relief Act in New York State," which included language in the legislative intent section of the bill specifying that it is the legislature's desire that domestic partners be eligible for federal fund awards. This provision was included to provide Special Master Kenneth Feinberg an additional basis in state law to award federal fund compensation to gay partners of 9/11 victims. (May 6, 2002)

• Passage of a bill extending non-discrimination protections to transgender people in New York City, making the City the 42nd and the most populous jurisdiction in the country to provide basic protections to transgender people in employment, housing, public accommodation and other areas of everyday life. (April 24, 2002)

• Revision of the Hate Crimes Incident Report form to include a reporting category for "Anti-Gender Identity Expression," thereby providing explicit recognition that transgender people are covered under New York's hate crimes law. This form put out by the NY State's Division of Criminal Justice Services is used by local law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes and provides the basis for tabulating statewide data on hate crimes. (January 2002)

 

2001

• Establishment of the "September 11th Gay and Lesbian Family Fund" to provide relief assistance to gay and lesbian survivors denied access to bedrock government programs afforded to spouses. The fund raised over $380,000 and distributed $17,350 to each of the 21 surviving partners. (December 13, 2001)

• American Red Cross issuance of an official policy of fair treatment for gay and lesbian families suffering from the loss of a loved one on 9/11. Detailed guidelines and procedures were also issued on how to treat same-sex relationships when determining eligibility for 9/11 disaster assistance. (December 4, 2001)

• Passage of a bill extending medical coverage to gay and lesbian partners of county employees in Albany County. (December 3, 2001)

• Governor Pataki's Executive Order granting surviving partners of gay victims of the 9/11 attacks equal benefits as spouses from the state's Crime Victims Board. The order marked the first official step taken by any level of government in the nation to address the inequities faced by gay and lesbian survivors of the terrorist attacks in obtaining assistance. (October 11, 2001)

• $1.5 million in state funds from the 2001 - 2002 fiscal year budget for LGBT health and human service programs beyond HIV/AIDS, bringing the total to $7.175 million over four years for this model initiative.

• Passage of a law in significantly strengthening existing anti-discrimination protections for gay men and lesbians in Suffolk County. The new law added enforcement mechanisms to the existing law, which had none previously, and extended protections to transgender people for the first time. (August 28, 2001)

• Attorney General Spitzer's compilation of a Hate Crimes Manual and its distribution to all of New York's District Attorneys for use as an orientation and resource guide. The manual highlights concerns specific to the gay and lesbian community in terms of recognizing and prosecuting a hate crime. It also includes the AG's opinion that under the new law the category "gender" provides protections for transgender people. (July 2001)

• The State Department of Education adoption of rules requiring every public school district in the state to document and report acts of bias-related bullying and intimidation. (July 4, 2001)

• Passage of a law extending nondiscrimination protections to gay men, lesbians and transgender people in the City of Rochester. (May 16, 2001)

• Extension of domestic partnership benefits to state senate employees. (January 19, 2001)

 

2000

• Passage of a law providing anti-discrimination protections for gay men and lesbians in Nassau County. (December 11, 2000)

• $2.675 million in state funds from the 2000 - 2001 fiscal year for LGBT health and human services programs beyond HIV/AIDS, bringing the total to $5.675 million over three years for this model initiative.

• Passage of Hate Crimes law in New York State that imposes stiff penalties for hate-motivated crimes, including crimes motivated by anti-gay hate. This is the first-ever state law to specifically mention the words "sexual orientation" and ended an eleven-year battle to pass the legislation. (June 23, 2000)

• Repeal of the consensual sodomy statute in New York State, and a legislative commitment to eliminate the terms "sodomy" and "deviate sexual intercourse" from the state's criminal laws. (June 22, 2000)

• Passage of a hate crimes law in Ithaca that includes bias crimes based on "gender identity and presentation." This is the first law in the state to specifically include transgender people. (June 8, 2000)

• Adoption of a policy to prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation and a safe schools policy that includes teaching respect for diversity by the Buffalo Board of Education. (January 27, 2000)

 

1999

• Passage of a tough human rights law in Westchester County to protect lesbians and gay men from discrimination. (December 13, 1999)

• $2.0 million in state funds from the 1999 - 2000 fiscal year for LGBT health and human services programs beyond HIV/AIDS, bringing the total to $3.0 million over two years for this model initiative.

 

1998

• $1.0 million in state funds from the 1998 - 1999 fiscal year for LGBT health and human services programs beyond HIV/AIDS. This $1.0 million represents the first year of funding for a network of what is now over 50 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health and human service groups across the state that provide essential services for LGBT youth, seniors and people of color. These dollars were awarded through a Request For Proposal (RFP) process, which was the first ever RFP in the history of the state directed toward non HIV/AIDS LGBT health and human services.

• Passage of a comprehensive domestic partnership law in New York City. Passage of this bill ended a 10-year struggle to achieve equal recognition of couples in domestic partner relationships. It set a new national benchmark by covering all areas under city jurisdiction, extending to registered domestic partners equal access to services and responsibilities currently extended to spouses. Heretofore most other cities addressed domestic partnership only in the context of municipal employee benefits. (July 7, 1998)