LGBT Organizations Urge NY City Council to Override Mayor's Veto of Law Prohibiting Discriminatory Profiling by Police

Lambda Legal joined 34 local and national LGBT organizations to issue the following statement:

Dear New York City Council,

We commend the New York City Council for leading the way toward putting an end to discriminatory policing of all of our communities by passing a comprehensive and enforceable ban on police profiling and establishing independent oversight of the New York City Police Department.

We congratulate New York City for making history by prohibiting police profiling based on sexual orientation and gender identity by law, along with race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, housing status, immigration status and disability, including HIV status.

From Stonewall to stop and frisk, LGBTQ people - and particularly LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ youth, and transgender and gender nonconforming people - have long been targets of profiling and other forms of discriminatory policing. The consequences have ranged from death to deportation, assault to arrest, homophobic harassment to humiliation. 

Every person, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, must be able to walk the streets without fear for their safety, including fear of police profiling and discriminatory policing practices. Profiling – whether it’s based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity – has no place in our society.

We thank you for your courage in protecting our right to safety while protecting our right to be free from discrimination in all its forms, including by police charged with protecting us. We urge you to continue to stand firm with LGBTQ people and communities of color, and to vote against efforts to veto this landmark legislation and turn back the clock on this victory. The safety of LGBTQ New Yorkers depends on it.

Ali Forney Center
Audre Lorde Project
Black and Pink
BreakOUT
Brooklyn Community Pride Center
Callen-Lorde
Center on HIV Law and Policy
Community United Against Violence
Equity Project
FIERCE
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Gay Mens' Health Crisis (GMHC)
Gay Straight Alliance Network
GetEQUAL
GLAAD
Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI)
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
Lambda Legal
Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA)
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of New York
Make the Road New York
National Black Justice Coalition (NCBJ)
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP)
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)
New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP)
New York State LGBTQ Domestic Violence Network
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF)
Providence Youth Student Movement (PRYSM)
Queerocracy
Queers for Economic Justice (QEJ)
Streetwise and Safe (SAS)
Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP)
Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF)

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