➤ CUOMO AT HRC, from p.20 ➤ SURROGACY REFORM, from p.20
loitering law. The loitering law has
disproportionately targeted transgender
women of color.
Following Cuomo’s announcement,
the #WalkingWhileTrans
Ban coalition praised the governor
and turned its attention to state
lawmakers.
“We applaud Governor Cuomo’s
support for the bill and we echo his
call… We look forward to working
together with the Governor to ensure
Black and Latinx women and
TGNC transgender and gendernonconforming
communities are
no longer arbitrarily targeted for
gender-based stop-and-frisk policing,”
the coalition said in a written
statement. “We urge lawmakers to
stand against gender-based profi ling
and stand with the hundreds
of TGNC and cis women who have
been harmed by this law for four
decades.”
Out gay State Senator Brad
Hoylman of Manhattan and Assemblymember
Amy Paulin of
Westchester are prime sponsors of
the legislation.
Hoylman offered positive words
for the governor shortly after his
announcement.
“Thank you, @NYGovCuomo,”
Hoylman wrote in a tweet. “We
are fortunate to have an executive
who always stands up for LGBTQ
New Yorkers.”
The effort to repeal the loitering
law faltered down the stretch during
last year’s legislative session
after the bill reached the Assembly
fl oor but stalled in the Senate
Codes Committee.
In the meantime, the NYPD updated
its patrol guide last year to
stop targeting people on the basis
of “gender, gender identity, clothing,
and location,” though it is not
just an issue in New York City.
According to the #Walking-
WhileTrans Ban coalition, cops
have made such arrests in Oneida
County and Onondaga County, as
well as in Suffolk County on Long
Island.
Whether the legislation will
pass this session is yet to be determined,
but advocates told Gay
City News late last month that
they are confi dent that lawmakers
will gut the discriminatory loitering
law this session.
The governor is again enlisting
the celebrity this legislative session
to lend his voice to the initiative.
In a tweet on February 11,
Cohen said he was on his way to
Albany to meet with legislators to
discuss surrogacy.
“I came to New York years ago
so I could live my life openly, but
I had to leave New York to start
my family,” Cohen said in a written
statement. “New York has long
been a leader in advancing the interests
of women and the LGBTQ
community, and it’s time to keep
that tradition alive by passing the
Child-Parent Security Act. With
the Love Makes a Family Campaign,
Governor Cuomo is leading
the charge to protect modern
families.”
Lawmakers supporting the bill
have argued that it contains the
best protections in the nation for
surrogates and imposes requirements
on parents-to-be to cover
all medical and legal fees for the
carriers.
The legislation would also remove
“second-parent adoption”
hurdles that have added extra
steps for parents to complete for
the non-biological parent to be recognized
as the baby’s parent.
But it is not yet clear how the
bill is shaping up this time around
after it clearly was not satisfactory
to a number of members of the Assembly.
Hoylman and Assembly
sponsor Amy Paulin of Westchester
told Gay City News last month that
they were working with advocates
and lawmakers on fi nding ways to
improve the legislation.
Paulin hinted at the possibility
of addressing concerns that women
who are egg donors — the other key
non-parent players in the process
— often face rigorous medication
and hormone treatment as part of
the surrogacy process, though no
concrete changes appear to be evident
this early in the year.
“There may be some changes,”
Hoylman said last month. “The basic
concept is the bill that passed
the Senate, and we are continuing
to have discussions about further
amendments to the bill. The governor’s
proposal is in line with what
we passed in the Senate. I’m eager
to hear from colleagues.”
Keep your prostate.
Kill the cancer.
Maimonides is the FIRST and ONLY medical center on the East
Coast to offer the next generation focal HIFU treatment.
The expert physicians at Maimonides are leading the way with the most advanced technology
on the East Coast. Focal HIFU ( High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound) offers the most precise,
image-guided treatment __ down to the millimeter __ and results in fewer side effects by
selectively destroying the cancerous cells within the prostate while leaving the healthy areas
intact and functional. Now available only at Maimonides.
Brooklyn’s Only Prostate Center
The new Maimonides Prostate Center is the only full service
prostate center in Brooklyn and is led by David Silver, MD, Chief,
Division of Urology Director, Prostate Center. The Center is at the
forefront of minimally invasive, multidisciplinary surgical and medical
care, offering men facing a diagnosis of prostate cancer the most
advanced technology and customized treatment options available.
Your life. To be continued.
To speak with a prostate center specialist,
call 888.MMC.DOCS or visit ProstateCenterNY.org
GayCityNews.com | February 13 - February 26, 2020 21
/ProstateCenterNY.org
/GayCityNews.com
