Assembly Member O'Donnell Calls on Gov. Hochul To Ban Non-Essential State Travel to Six Anti-LGBTQ States

New York, NY - March 23, 2023 - Today, Assembly Member Danny O'Donnell sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul requesting that New York State ban all non-essential travel to six states that have recently passed anti-LGBTQ bills.

In 2023 alone, over 400 bills have been introduced in state legislatures nationwide that attack LGBTQ people. Of those that have become law, several pose a clear danger to New Yorkers visiting these states, including Arkansas (SB199, SB43), Mississippi (HB1125), South Dakota (HB1080), Tennessee (SB1,SB3), Utah (SB16), and West Virginia (HB 3042).

In the past Assembly Member O'Donnell sadly had to send similar letters to the New York State Governor asking for decisive action against states targeting the LGBTQ community. He has sent letters regarding cruel and discriminatory laws passed in Mississippi, North Carolina, Indiana, Louisiana, Idaho and Arkansas, and in many of these cases, New York took action and banned non-essential state travel.

New York State has long been a pioneer and leading voice on LGBTQ rights. As we face a precarious time in our national culture, New York State must continue to show that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that LGBTQ Americans, and at this time, particularly transgender youth, are protected.

See the full letter here.

Daniel O'Donnell, the first openly gay man in the New York State Assembly, has been a progressive voice in Albany since he was elected to represent the 69th District in 2002. He is a local and national leader of LGBTQ rights having authored and sponsored New York State's Marriage Equality Law, which was signed into law in 2011; the Dignity for All Students Act, which was the first time trans rights were written into New York state law; the legislation prohibiting "gay and trans panic defenses" in 2019, and the Gender Recognition Act in 2021, making it easier for trans, nonbinary, and intersex New Yorkers to make their driver licenses and birth certificates reflect their identity.