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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Andy Izenson, Senior Legal Director of Chosen Family Law Center
2:41:00
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129 sec
Andy Izenson, Senior Legal Director at Chosen Family Law Center, testified in support of the comprehensive package of bills addressing TGNCNB rights and protections in New York City. They emphasized the interconnectedness of trans rights with other social justice issues and the importance of standing against discriminatory legislation.
- Highlighted their experience researching protective laws for LGBTQ+ individuals across the country
- Discussed the current environment of disinformation and propaganda targeting trans communities
- Urged the council to pass the proposed measures to affirm New York's commitment to protecting all residents, regardless of their background or length of residency
Andy Izenson
2:41:00
Andy?
2:41:01
Thank you so much.
2:41:02
Thank you for unmuting me.
2:41:04
Good afternoon, chair Lewis and members of the committee, and thank you for having me to testify.
2:41:09
And thank you to the council members that propose these bills, council members, Kaban, Hanif, Asse, Bacher, Hudson, and Schulman.
2:41:17
I'm the senior legal director at the Chosen Family Law Center.
2:41:20
I work with LGBTQ plus clients all over New York State.
2:41:24
I'm also a law professor at the LGBTQ plus advocacy clinic at Harvard Law School.
2:41:29
And in that in that position, I spent the last year researching shield, sanctuary, and other protective laws that, at the state and municipal level that are being passed all over the country.
2:41:40
And I wanna say I've never seen a package as comprehensive and likely to be effective as the package on the table today.
2:41:47
I'm also on the board of the of directors for the Accountability Journalism Institute, and so I can say we are in an environment of violent propaganda and disinformation meant to tear our communities apart and prevent us from connecting with each other, coming together, and rising up.
2:42:02
The clients that we work with who are trans are not only trans.
2:42:05
Equity for trans people means immigrant justice, reproductive justice, economic justice, and every other, destruction of, of violent oppression on every level.
2:42:17
The anti trans legislation that's being passed across the country at the state and federal level is being written and promulgated by the Heritage Foundation, and they understand the eradication of trans people to be inextricable from the restriction of reproductive freedom and the genocidal anti immigrant measures that they're passing.
2:42:34
So expressing that New York cares about New Yorkers no matter how long standing or new, no matter what their New York residency means to them is, it is what this package of bills is for.
2:42:45
A previous speaker said this is not homophobia.
2:42:49
We are not afraid, and I don't think that's true.
2:42:53
I think what we are seeing is the last gasp of a dying mindset of hate trying desperately to keep itself alive in a New York City that is not a place where it can take root.
2:43:02
So I wanna urge the council
Shahana Hanif
2:43:03
Thank you.
Qween Jean (she/her)
2:43:04
Time's expired.
Andy Izenson
2:43:04
Measures.
2:43:07
I greatly appreciate your time.
2:43:08
Thank you so much.