POLITICS
Discriminatory Walking While Trans Ban Repealed
Out gay State Senator Brad Hoylman worked with advocates to gut archaic law
BY MATT TRACY
The State Legislature on
February 2 overwhelmingly
passed a muchanticipated
bipartisan
bill repealing a discriminatory
loitering law known as a ban on
“walking while trans,” capping off
a years-long advocacy effort driven
in large part by those who have
been victimized under the measure.
The State Senate approved the
bill by a 45-16 margin before the
Assembly stepped up and passed
it, 105-44. Governor Andrew Cuomo,
who endorsed the bill, signed it
into law the same day.
The archaic loitering law, Section
240.37 of the New York State
Penal Code, has been used by police
offi cers to harass and arrest
transgender women of color for
baseless reasons, including what
they are wearing or whether or
not they have an “Adam’s Apple.”
Many people have reported being
stopped for merely walking down
the street.
Notably, the new legislation also
amends Section 160.50 of the
criminal procedure law to seal prior
convictions under the loitering
law. The “walking while trans” ban
has historically presented roadblocks
for those seeking housing,
employment, and more.
Frustratingly, it took years of
advocacy — including numerous
press conferences, rallies, letters,
outreach, and even resolutions
in the New York City Council —
before lawmakers would even
budge on moving the legislation
forward. The repeal bill reached
the Assembly fl oor in 2019 without
a vote and then stalled in
the Senate Codes Committee. By
2020, advocates were demanding
answers from Assembly Speaker
Carl Heastie and State Senate
Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-
Cousins about why the bill continued
to collect dust.
Out gay State Senator Brad
Hoylman of Manhattan and Assemblymember
Amy Paulin of
Westchester, who are the bill’s lead
Out gay State Senator Brad Hoylman led the “walking while trans” ban repeal in the upper chamber.
TS Candii (left), at a demonstration last summer, was the lead activist in the legislative effort.
sponsors, worked with advocates
to continue rallying the support
they needed from other lawmakers.
In June of last year, the State
Senate clinched the necessary cosponsors
to pass the bill with their
votes alone — and the support only
grew from there.
“The Senate today corrects an
injustice in our penal code that
has permitted law enforcement
to arrest transgender women —
namely those of color, along with
immigrants and LGBTQ youth —
simply for walking down the street
and the clothes they wear,” Hoylman
said in a written statement
after the bill passed the upper
chamber. “This outdated, discriminatory
statute has led to hundreds
of unnecessary arrests of
transgender women of color and a
broader culture of fear and intimidation
TWITTER/STATE SENATOR BRAD HOYLMAN
DONNA ACETO
for transgender and gender
non-conforming New Yorkers.”
Hoylman’s newest out gay colleague,
State Senator Jabari Brisport,
reacted to the bill’s passage
by noting that the state has made
signifi cant strides on LGBTQ
rights in a short span of time.
“Twelve years ago the New York
State Senate voted no on same
sex marriage,” Brisport said in a
tweet. “Today we just voted to repeal
Walking While Trans. How far
we’ve come. Queer rights are human
rights and Black Trans Lives
Matter.”
Assemblymembers sparred over
the bill during a debate on the
Assembly fl oor February 2, but
some GOP lawmakers veered far
off track as they pushed a series
of unsubstantiated points warning
of a sex traffi cking surge if the law
is repealed. Republicans even used
the opportunity to argue that the
repeal would lead to the comprehensive
decriminalization of sex
work. A sex work decriminalization
bill was proposed in the State
Legislature in 2019.
Assemblymember Michael Reilly
of Staten Island argued that repealing
the law would lead to a
proliferation of “red light districts”
and “bring carjacking,” while Assemblymember
Joseph Angelino,
who represents the upstate area of
Norwich, suggested that lawmakers
could simply contact law enforcement
offi cials and “have them
modify their behavior.” Assemblymember
Michael Tannousis of
Brooklyn and Staten Island voiced
a similar point, saying that “this
should be corrected by addressing
the potential unjust enforcement
of this law, not repealing this law
totally.”
Contrary to that argument, however,
the NYPD already amended
its patrol guide to advise offi cers
against utilizing the loitering law
— and that has not stopped offi -
cers from harassing sex workers
and trans women.
Tannousis added, “My fear is
that by repealing this law, we will
embolden the gangs and organized
crime groups” who engage in sex
traffi cking.
Some Republicans who backed
the bill, however, qualifi ed their
support by emphasizing that they
are vehemently opposed to comprehensive
sex work decriminalization.
GOP Assemblymember
Michael Lawler, who represents the
area west of the Hudson River encompassing
Suffern, Orangeburg,
and Pearl River, said he would vote
for the repeal bill, but would “continue
to oppose” sex work decriminalization,
arguing that “we will be
decriminalizing johns and pimps
and their actions.”
The talking points pushed by Republicans
directly contradicted the
realities of sex workers who have
long stressed that policing and
criminalization must be reduced
➤ WALKING WHILE TRANS, continued on p.11
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