Overview
New York State Capitol
Governor's Reception Room
Monday – Friday
7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Rebellion changed the course of LGBTQ+ history. In the decades since, New York State has led the way in recognizing the strengths of its diverse culture. Today, the LGBTQ+ community and their allies are still actively fighting for and championing LGBTQ+ rights in New York and the nation.
Advocates continue to press for LGBTQ+ rights, including improved access to health care, accommodation in schools, and shelter, as well as the basic human right to live freely as oneself.
The 2026 Pride Month exhibition, Power & Policy, explores over five decades of policy development and highlights the continued fight by LGBTQ+ communities for an equitable, safe, and healthier New York.
Visitors can explore the legacy of the Stonewall Rebellion by visiting the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, the first LGBTQ+ visitor center within the National Park Service. Image from EWY Media.
Military Service
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
In 1994, an attempt to lift a decades-old ban on LGBTQ+ individuals serving in the U.S. military prompted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. It allowed LGBTQ+ people to serve in the military if they did not disclose their sexual orientation.
Ultimately, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was not only criticized for reinforcing negative stigmas, but it also led to an increase in bias towards LGBTQ+ service members. Before the law was repealed, officially ending on September 20, 2011, more than 10,000 lesbian, gay, and bisexual troops were dismissed from duty.
A U.S. Department of the Army, With Dignity & Respect: A Training Guide on Homosexual Conduct Policy, 2001.
President Barack Obama signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act on December 22, 2010. Image from Defense Visual Information Distribution Service [DVIDS]. Photo by Chuck Kennedy.
Transgender Service Members
Transgender service members have long been the targets of discrimination and harassment in the U.S. military. The U.S. Department of Defense lifted the ban on openly transgender military service in 2016. Since then, policies around transgender service have changed with each presidential administration.
On January 27, 2025, the U.S. president issued an Executive Order reinstating the ban. New York Attorney General Letitia James responded, saying, “All service members deserve our utmost gratitude for their bravery and sacrifice.” She argued that the order is unconstitutional and “cruelly targets transgender Americans.” The ban is in effect as court challenges continue.
A transgender flag on a soldier's uniform.
School and the Workplace
New York City Gay Rights Bill
New York City’s Gay Rights Bill was formally introduced in 1971 with a goal of adding sexual orientation to the protections covered under the city’s Human Rights Law. It was officially signed into city law in 1986, following a yearslong campaign by LGBTQ+ activists.
Letter written by Andrew Humm and Eleanor Cooper of the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights to The New York Times advocating for the Gay Rights Bill, March 5, 1983. Article provided by ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act
The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) of 2002 “prohibits discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, and the exercise of civil rights” in many New York State laws, including the Human Rights Law, the Civil Rights Law, and the Education Law.
The passage of SONDA was significant, but it did not include protections based on gender identity or gender expression, so discrimination against transgender New Yorkers continued to impact aspects of daily life, particularly at work, school, and in health care. In 2014, the Empire State Pride Agenda reported that 75 percent of transgender students in the state faced discrimination in school, and 20 percent of transgender individuals were fired from their jobs due to their gender identity or expression.
In 2019, New York State passed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which added gender identity and gender expression as protected classes under the New York State Human Rights Law. GENDA also extended the definitions of hate crimes to include those related to gender expression.
Janet Mock and Laverne Cox rallying for the New York State Legislature to pass GENDA, Albany, NY, April 2013. Image sourced from The Empty Closet no. 468, June 2013. Photo by Ove Overmyer.
Image courtesy of the New York State Division of Human Rights.
Health Care
Ending the AIDS Epidemic in New York State
In the 1980s and 90s, the AIDS/HIV crisis devastated LGBTQ+ communities worldwide, but particularly in New York, which quickly found itself as the epicenter in the U.S. Amid fear and misinformation about the transmission of HIV, LGBTQ+ communities faced both a public health crisis and social discrimination. Yet, HIV has never been a disease confined to a single community — it affects people of all sexual orientations, identities, and backgrounds. Since 1981, more than 700,000 Americans have lost their lives due to HIV-related causes.
In 2014, New York launched the Ending the Epidemic (ETE) initiative, which focuses on HIV testing and increased access to treatment and preventive medications. It is the first program of its kind in the nation, and New York State is the first jurisdiction in the world to have a detailed plan to end the HIV epidemic. The state’s collaborative public health efforts have reduced infections, increased viral suppression, and expanded access to treatment and education.
Attendees of the 2025 World AIDS Day and Ending the Epidemic Summit. Photo courtesy of the Office of Planning and Community Affairs, AIDS Institute.
Healthcare Coverage for Transgender New Yorkers
For decades, transgender New Yorkers have faced systemic barriers to accessing essential medical services. Thanks to advocacy groups and grassroots activists in the 2010s, significant progress has been made to improve legal protections and health insurance coverage for transgender New Yorkers' access to safe and practical medical services statewide.
In 2014, the Legal Aid Society, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and other groups led a case (Cruz v. Zucker) that successfully challenged New York State’s Medicaid practice of denying coverage for medically necessary gender-affirming care. Additionally, the state implemented nondiscrimination protections under a section of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), expanding access to gender-affirming health insurance coverage.
In response to growing attacks on protections for transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and intersex people on the federal level, New York State has instituted Shield Laws that protect health care providers and patients seeking safe, legal health services throughout the state.
Protest sign in New York City.
Marriage Equality
New York State’s Marriage Equality Act
The Marriage Equality Act of 2011 amended New York State’s Domestic Relations Law to grant same-sex couples the legal right to marry.
National efforts supporting marriage equality began in the 1970s. They intensified in the 1980s and 1990s, when the AIDS crisis underscored the importance of legal rights and protections granted to partners by marriage, including health insurance, hospital visitation rights, parental rights, and survivor benefits.
In 2007 and 2009, same-sex marriage legislation passed the New York State Assembly, but it failed to pass the state Senate on both occasions. The bill passed and was signed into law on July 24, 2011, inspiring same-sex partners across the state to get married as soon as they were legally able. The legislation states that “no application for a marriage license shall be denied on the ground that the parties are of the same, or different, sex.”
At midnight on July 24, 2011, Kitty Lambert-Rudd and Cheryle Lambert-Rudd became the first same-sex couple in New York to lawfully marry, exchanging vows at Niagara Falls State Park. Photos courtesy of Kitty and Cheryle Lambert-Rudd and Niagara Pride, Inc.
Obergefell v. Hodges
The success of New York State’s Marriage Equality Act helped build momentum for a nationwide movement. In 2013, Jim Obergefell, along with same-sex couples in four other states, sued for legal recognition of their same-sex marriages, arguing that these states violated the Fourteenth Amendment by denying them the right to marry or have their legal marriages that were performed in other states recognized.
All district courts ruled in their favor; however, the Sixth District Court in Ohio consolidated the cases and reversed the decision. Since this created a major split among federal courts, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case under the name Obergefell v. Hodges.
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment, through the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause, guarantees same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry. This landmark decision extended marriage equality and legal recognition nationwide.
A crowd outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, June 26, 2015.
Current Challenges & Successes in New York State
Despite the milestones celebrated in this exhibit, attacks on LGBTQ+ communities are on the rise nationwide. The federal government recently dismantled the 988-suicide and crisis lifeline for LGBTQ+-specific calls, increased gender bias in youth sports, rolled back health research and grants affecting LGBTQ+ individuals, and eliminated Gender and Sexuality Alliances from public schools.
There are currently 529 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being considered for law by states across the country.
To address this reality, New York State continues to fund the 988-suicide and crisis lifeline. The state also enacted Shield Laws 2.0 and 2.1, which protect health care providers and patients seeking lawful reproductive and gender-affirming care in the state from criminal or civil liability and professional sanctions imposed by jurisdictions outside the state.
While New York State has taken action to protect patients and health care providers, the federal government continues to roll back protections for gender expression, creating legal quagmires and uncertainty for patients, providers, and advocates.
In 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul enacted the groundbreaking Lorena Borjas Transgender Wellness & Equity Fund to support organizations that provide critical care services for transgender, gender nonconforming, and non-binary New Yorkers.
New York State aims to lead the nation in LGBTQ+ rights and protections, as well as remain a safe harbor and open door for anyone to freely express their sexual orientation or gender identity without fear, hate, or judgment.
Presenters speak at the inaugural Transgender Wellness & Equity Fund Convening at Albany’s Empire State Plaza, March 23 & 24, 2026. Photo provided by the Office of the Governor.
Members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community march with New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. Photo provided by the Office of the Governor. Photo by Mike Groll.