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LGTBQ Housing Rights
ENDING BORDER DETENTION of CHILDREN and PEOPLE SEEKING ASYLUM and REFUGE

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This link is to an article that includes history and stats about where LGTBQ housing rights stand, home buying advice from experts on the topic, and a state-by-state map that highlights which areas prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity:

https://www.reviews.com/blog/lgbtq-fair-housing/

 

It’s interesting to note that in the reviews.com article, NY State is not listed on the national map of states that have LGTBQ anti-discrimination laws on the books. However, we do have a strong Human Rights law prohibiting discrimination https://ag.ny.gov/civil-rights/lgbt-rights   as well as a number of local laws (see some of NYS jurisdictions listed below) Check out this link for more information than is copied here:

LGBT Rights

Laws Protecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) New Yorkers

 

New York State residents receive LGBT-related and same-sex marriage protections under a variety of state and local laws. For information on whether a specific law applies to you, or if you believe you have been the victim of discrimination, contact the Civil Rights Bureau at (212) 416-8250 or Civil.Rights@ag.ny.gov.

New York State LGBT Laws

The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA)

The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, effective as of January 16, 2003, makes it unlawful for anyone in New York State to be discriminated against in employment, housing, credit, education and public accommodations because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. SONDA, in combination with laws prohibiting discrimination based on marital status, together prohibit discrimination against same-sex couples in employment, housing, credit, education, and public accommodations.

With respect to transgender individuals, SONDA does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression. However, SONDA does apply when a transgender person is discriminated against based upon his or her actual or perceived sexual orientation. Furthermore, courts have also held that transgender people are protected under provisions of the New York State Human Rights Law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex and/or disability.  And in 2009, then-Governor David Paterson issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state employment on the basis of gender identity.

If you believe you have been the victim of discrimination prohibited by SONDA or the New York State Human Rights Law, you may file a complaint with the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Making a complaint with the Attorney General does not satisfy other statutory filing deadlines that may apply.

Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)

The Dignity for All Students Act, effective as of July 1, 2012, seeks to provide the state’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment and bullying on school property, school buses, and during school functions. In 2012, the law was extended to apply to cyberbullying, prohibiting bullying and harassment via electronic communication. Prohibited activities can include aggressive conduct, threats, intimidation, or abuse that unreasonably and substantially interferes with another student’s educational performance. For more information on DASA, click here. 

 

Local Laws Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity/Expression

Alongside the protections afforded by SONDA, various New York jurisdictions, including but not limited to those listed below, prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in one or more of the following contexts:  public employment, private employment, public accommodations, education and/or housing.

City of Albany

Village of Alfred

City of Binghamton

Town of Brighton

City of Buffalo

Town of East Hampton

City of Ithaca

New York City

City of Plattsburgh

City of Rochester

Town of Southampton

City of Troy

City of Watertown

Albany County

Nassau County

Onondaga County

Suffolk County

Tompkins County

Westchester County

Six cities and three counties in New York State prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. These are Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Rochester, and Suffolk, Tompkins, and Westchester Counties.

Human Rights Watch published some suggestions that one can do to help attenuate the problems with the border detention of children and innocent people simply seeking asylum and refuge—some from war-torn, deathly-violent, hunger-stricken and/or drug cartel-infested conditions. Here are four things you can ask the US Congress to do now:

 

detention 2

1. End family separation.

Yes, it’s still happening. Congress can and should require US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to stop separating kids from parents and extended family members like grandmothers, aunts, and older siblings – people who are in many cases their caregivers.

This means also asking Congress to insist US agencies expedite family reunifications.

2. Make sure funding for CBP and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is responsible for long-term care of unaccompanied children and those separated from their families, is conditional on the agencies’ adherence to strict protection standards for children.

That means detention time limits in holding cells with toothbrushes, soap, showers, and mattresses for children while they’re in those holding cells.

3. Fund community-based alternatives to detention for kids who can’t immediately be placed with  family members.

Image result for IMAGES of children in detention at border

That includes foster care arrangements and small, state-licensed group homes for teens, with appropriate supervision by social workers.

Lastly…

4. Write child rights protections into law and ensure the law is followed.

CBP and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, have consistently treated their own standards as optional and disregarded court orders. They’ve just proposed regulations that would give them even more discretion to detain children indefinitely  in abusive conditions. What’s needed is a statute on the books and a way to compel compliance.