SDNYC Statement on Today's GENDA Vote

This afternoon, the five Republican members of the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee, along with Democratic committee member Ruben Diaz, Sr., voted against the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act (GENDA). The final tally was 6-3.

Since the bill was written in December 2002, GENDA has passed the Assembly 10 times. However it has never passed out of Senate committee. Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC (SDNYC) is grateful to the leadership of Senator Daniel Squadron and the support of Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, Senator Brad Hoylman, and the entire Democratic Senate team on the continuing efforts to advance GENDA.

SDNYC is deeply disappointed that transgender New Yorkers were once again denied equal rights and we join, with transgender people in New York and around the nation, in looking wistfully at the GENDA bill and a near 20 year record of lost opportunities and bad faith bargaining. SDNYC recommits working to support public officials that believe, like the vast majority of New Yorkers, that everyone in our state deserves equal civil rights and we implore the Democrats in the New York State Senate to come together, reform as a Senate majority, and pass GENDA.

Join SDNYC in the Bronx on April 19th!

Please join Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC (SDNYC) at our upcoming monthly meeting in the Bronx on April 19th!

We will be joined by NYC Council LGBT Caucus Members Ritchie Torres and Jimmy Vacca, other Bronx electeds TBA and LGBT Democrats from across the borough. This meeting will be a great chance to meet LGBT community leaders and Bronx local elected officials and to hear about SDNYC’s goals for 2017!

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Please see below for more details:

 

NOTE - WE WILL NOT MEET ON APRIL 26th AT THE LGBT CENTER IN MANHATTAN - PLEASE JOIN US IN THE BRONX ON APRIL 19th!

 

Letter from SDNYC Club President: Together, we'll fight Trump. And win!

Friends - 

We knew our community would have a fight on its hands from the moment Donald Trump took the oath of office on January 20th. Since that day, the onslaught has been endless and it isn't stopping. We need to prepare for the long-haul and we need your support.

Just this week, the Trump administration killed a Census Bureau proposal that, for the first time ever, counted LGBT people during the 2020 Census. This comes on the heels of the Trump removing all LGBT questions from the National Older Americans Survey. By not counting us, they are trying to hide the size and strength of the LGBT community. We fought hard for the recognition and rights we have today, and we will not let the Trump administration drive us back into the shadows of the closet. We must push back by being out, loud, and proud. 

Trump's team is doing everything it can to chip away at the advances of the past 60 years -- you see it in the anti-immigration raids, discriminatory executive actions, and of course the outrageous promotion of lies designed to divide our country. New York cannot stand for this, and we must respond and resist. As the city's largest LGBT-Democratic club, SDNYC must ensure our community is at the forefront of that resistance.

As members, we can organize and hold meetings. But we need to be able to do more. 

With your support, we can organize rallies that make our collective voices heard from Christopher Street to Trump Tower to the White House and all the way to Mar-a-Lago.

With your support, we can hold our elected officials accountable to make sure they are doing all they can to protect us from an increasingly hostile Federal government.

Stonewall has been fighting for our community for decades and we are ready to double down on our efforts -- but we can't do it without your contribution of $10, $20 or more today.

Together, we'll fight Trump. And win.

Thank you,

Rose Christ, President SDNYC

Action Alert: Tell New York State Students Are More Than Test Scores

Action Alert: Tell New York State Students Are More Than Test Scores

March 20th Deadline

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is seeking input on how to measure school quality. LGBT parents and students know this means more than just test scores, and includes how safe and valued students feel in the classroom.

We need folks to take the NYSED Survey and on ITEMS #31 & #41 (on the second page), tell NYSED you strongly want SCHOOL CLIMATE as an indicator of school success. The quality of the climate may be the single most predictive factor in any school’s capacity to promote student achievement. 

Positive school climate, where students feel safe and valued, is connected to higher academic achievement, test-scores, graduation rates, and participation in school life, and lower truancy, bullying, and drop-out rates.  Positive school climate is essential for LGBT student success. 

If you aren't an informed educator or engaged parent, you can skip the other questions, but it is vital that they see our community cares not just about test scores but whole students as people. 

SDNYC March Meeting - LGBT Immigrants in NYC

SDNYC March Meeting

March 22 | 8pm | LGBT Center

click here to RSVP & share with your friends on Facebook

Join SDNYC for a conversation about the needs of LGBT Immigrants in NYC. We will be joined by:
--Council Member Carlos Menchaca
--Sebastian Maguire, Co-Founder of Seeking Asylum & Finding Empowerment (SAFE). 
--Luis Mancheno, Equality NY Board Member and an Immigration and LGBT Attorney who helped to secure the release of five detainees at the JFK Airport
Other guest speakers and details TBA.

Upcoming Events & Activities

TOMORROW - March with SDNYC in the St. Pats For All Parade!

THIS SUNDAY -- March 5th, 2017 | 1pm | Sunnyside Queens

See below for more information about joining SDNYC at the 18th annual St. Pats for All Parade & don't forget to RSVP/invite your friends to join us on Facebook!

Time:
1:00pm -- Assembly & Remarks
2:00pm -- Parade Step-Off

Meeting Location: 42nd St and Skillman Ave in Sunnyside  (look for the SDNYC banner when you arrive at meeting location)

Parade Route: 
From-- 43rd St and Skillman Ave in Sunnyside
To -- 58st St and Woodside Ave in Woodside

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Tele-Town Hall w/ National Equity Action Team (NEAT)

Monday, March 6 | 8pm | Phonecall (click here to sign up) 

Between Trump’s rescinding of transgender guidance for students, to the upcoming Supreme Court case of Gavin Grimm, there has been a lot in the news lately affecting our community. To help make sense of it all, we are excited to partner with the National Equality Action Team (NEAT) to host a tele-Town Hall on the evening of Monday, March 6 to give you the information you need and want. Sign up here www.theNEAT.org/townhall to call in!

Join us as we break these events down, talk about why it matters and answer your questions. We will discuss issues such as what Title IX is and how it affects LGBTQ people, the raminfications of rescinding the guidance for transgender students, the implications of the upcoming Grimm case at the Supreme Court, as well as provid an opportunity to answer as many of your questions as we can.

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Rally To Raise Awareness of Violence Against Trans Women Of Color

March 26 | 5:30pm | Jackie Robinson Park (Harlem)

Since January 1, 2017 seven trans women of color have lost their lives - all but one was under 35. 

Violence towards transgender women of color is an epidemic and one that must be addressed immediately.

 

Join SDNYC and a coaliton of LGBT Community Leaders on March 26, 2017 at 5:30pm in Jackie Robinson Park for a rally to raise public awareness of the ongoing epidemic of physical violence being perpetrated against transgender women of color. More information & RSVP link TBA.

Rally participants will seek to engage our elected officials and community members and to build alliances with those who are ready committed to working with the trans community to find solutions in the following key areas:

  • Law—The need for further legal protections for transgender women to keep them safe from violence and discrimination.
  • Housing—Addressing homelessness and the cofactors that exist that lead to transgender women facing a lack of safe, affordable housing.
  • Job training—Preparing transgender women of color for employment by offering free skills-building workshops/courses.
  • Education—Making education a reality for those who wish to attend school free from harassment and bullying.
  • Social Media—A nationwide campaign to educate and raise awareness about transgender communities of color.
  • Funding—A recognition that securing funding is essential in order to move our agenda forward. It is essential to put funding dollars behind these goals if we are to succeed.

Click here to read the full press release and learn more.

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Housing Needs Survey for LGBTQ Seniors in NYC

The NYC Council, the Stonewall Community Development Corporation, and SAGE have launched an online survey that will help to assess the housing needs of LGBTQ Seniors in NYC. Click the following link to access the survey which will be online until April 15, 2017: www.lgbtsurvey.org