Dromm’s statements on the New York State Legislature’s passage of GENDA and a ban on gay conversion therapy for minors

UsaNewsOnline.Com Desk, New York : “As a long-time LGBTQ activist, I am overjoyed by the state legislature’s passage of GENDA,” said NYC Council LGBT Caucus Chair Daniel Dromm.  “Every single day, transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals must grapple with the fact that their very existence may lead to discrimination and violence.  GENDA, sponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, will bring much-needed job, housing and other protections to these vulnerable New Yorkers when enacted.  Locally, my colleagues in the NYC Council and I have done much to advocate for transgender and gender-nonconforming people.  Because of our advocacy, NYC boasts one of the strongest laws protecting these communities.  Now all counties across the state will offer these protections as well.  It is a great day to be a New Yorker.”

“I commend the state legislature for passing legislation outlawing compensated gay conversion therapy for minors,” said Dromm.  “For too long, LGBTQ youth in New York have been subject to the psychological torture known as ‘conversion therapy,’ pseudo-scientific treatments that aim to change one’s sexual orientation from gay to straight.  Mental health experts have long denounced this practice as quackery, with many in the field outlining the serous long-term mental health risks that it poses.  As a leader of the successful effort to ban this horrific practice in NYC, I am pleased that similar protections will now be extended to children living outside the city.  I applaud the legislation’s prime sponsors, State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Deborah Glick, for their commitment to this effort and thank Governor Cuomo for vowing to sign the bill into law.” Press Release.