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 Draft of Gay Rights Bill Article: 

Overview:

The New York City Gay Rights Bill was a bill passed on March 20th, 1986 in a council vote of 21-14.

The purpose of the bill was to provide protections from discrimination to the city’s LGBTQ+ population in three main areas: housing, employment and public accommodations. If violated, punishment included up to $500 in fines and up to a year in jail. The bill had a long legislative history, dating back to 1971. It took fifteen years overall before the final version of the bill was passed, and this was due to opposition from many sides such as from city council members, religious organizations, and labor unions. Even though New York City at the time had the largest homosexual population in the United States, by 1986 New York City became the 51st city in the country to pass and enact anti-discrimination legislation.

Legislative History of the Bill:

The initial measure was first introduced by City Council Minority Leader Eldon R. Clingan on June 2, 1970, in an effort to extend the city’s fair employment practices law. This would prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or preference. He was joined by fellow council members Carter Burden, Leonard Scholnick and Theodore S. Weiss, where it became known as Intro 475. The bill was later expanded to prohibit discrimination in housing and public accommodations. On January 6th, 1971, it was introduced to the New York City Council. The bill amended the law which had originally established the commission on Human Rights, by including “sexual orientation” in the list of already protected classes: race, creed, and national origin. It was the first bill of its kind to provide protections against discrimination for LGBTQ+ people in the United States.

Opposition to the Gay Rights Bill

Delays in passing the bill were partly due to misinformation that was spread about the legislation’s content and purpose. Opponents of the bill claimed that it was promoting homosexual “lifestyles”,  and provided ways for homosexuals to receive special treatment, or established affirmative action quotas for hiring homosexual employees (ADD REFERENCE: General Welfare Committee Meeting 1986 ). Public statements from labor unions and religious organizations reinforced popular misconceptions about the bill. One notable opponent was the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, who spent $10,000 in ads against the bill. They stated that “All members of the team have to be a man’s man.” (ADD REFERENCE: Wagner Archives) Another opponent of the bill was the New York Catholic Archdiocese, who stated that the bill was a “menace to family life.” Further opposition from constituents via phone call and mail was what caused a sway of position from council members from supporting the bill. Noach Dear, a then city council member ADD: who represented a community of Orthodox Jewish constituents in NYC, stated that passage of the bill would be a “catastrophe for the city.”