This article was originally published by Them.
New York just became the latest state in America to be designated as a safe haven for transgender youth and families fleeing legal persecution.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed the legislation into law on Sunday, June 25, during a ceremony before New York City’s annual Pride March.
“There are people outside our borders in other states who do not have the same rights that we do here in New York, and that is wrong,” Hochul told reporters, alluding to the firestorm of legislation targeting the rights of trans people in various states throughout the U.S. “We are calling that out, standing together shoulder to shoulder, saying we are in solidarity with the rest of America.”
Introduced by New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Senate Bill S2475B calls upon state officials to not comply with laws in other states that would remove trans children from their parents’ custody. It states that New York courts cannot use such laws to classify the provision of gender-affirming healthcare as child abuse. Law enforcement and court officials are also barred from complying with out-of-state investigations of trans children and their parents who seek care in New York.
Additionally, the bill builds upon existing protections for abortion providers, extending the same graces to providers of gender-affirming care. Under the law, offering this care cannot be classified as misconduct. This ensures that practitioners’ licenses cannot be taken away simply for doing their jobs.
At Sunday’s ceremony, Hochul also signed three laws that update terminology in state law to be more gender inclusive, per a press release from the governor’s office.
Ten other states and Washington, D.C. have enacted similar “shield” laws that protect trans youth and their parents, according to the Movement Advancement Project. California became the first state to sign such a bill into law last year, with states like Minnesota and New Jersey following suit.
Executive orders issued in two additional states, New Jersey and Maryland, also offer safe haven protections.
In a statement, Senator Hoylman-Sigal said that New York’s safe haven law “comes at a crucial time” and “makes clear to the nation that our state welcomes transgender children and their families by protecting them and their physicians who provide gender-affirming care.”
At the time of writing, 20 U.S. states have laws on the books banning or restricting access to gender-affirming care for trans youth, policies that fly in the face of official recommendations from virtually every major medical association in the country.
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