Thousands united Nov. 12 in front of a Mormon temple in Midtown and marched to Columbus Circle to protest Proposition Hate, er…Proposition 8.
A new generation of activists unites via the Internet. Log on and Join the Impact.
A multimedia SAGE campaign makes LGBT elders more visible—even on New York’s subways and buses.
How will his departure affect LGBT issues in Albany?
Industry leaders powwow to raise questions about the persecution of clubland.
Anti-gay hate crimes are on the rise across the U.S.—homophobic incidents have even surfaced at a local production of play “Judy and Me.”
Spurred by a gay marriage ban in California, simultaneous protests were
held Nov. 14 across the nation. In Manhattan, 4,000 rallied at City Hall.
Next up: A Dec. 10 event called A Day Without a Gay.
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Monday, August 28, 2006
WHITE PLAINS, New York (AP) — A cook who claims he was fired by a fancy restaurant when co-workers discovered he was a woman living as a man is protected by New York state’s human rights law, a judge has ruled.
State Supreme Court Justice Joan Lefkowitz held that although discrimination against a transgender person is not specifically listed in the law — which does mention racial discrimination, religious discrimination and sexual discrimination — it is covered nonetheless.
The ruling applies statewide and marks another victory for the transgender community. It builds on previous state court decisions holding that New York City’s human rights law covered transgender people even before it was changed to specifically mention them.
The ruling also means that Eric Buffong’s $3 million lawsuit can now go forward.
"Transgender" is an umbrella term that covers cross-dressers, transsexuals and other people whose outward appearance does not match their gender at birth. Whether they were protected across the state "really wasn’t settled law before this," Louis Ginsberg, Buffong’s attorney, said last Friday.
His client, a 27-year-old from White Plains, was born Erica but changed his name seven years ago and lives as a man.
Buffong was working at the jacket-required Equus restaurant in Tarrytown until a co-worker found a high-school yearbook photo showing him as a woman. Buffong said last Friday he did not know right away that his secret had been discovered, but gradually caught on when he was mocked by fellow employees, his name was changed to Erica on the work schedule, his hours were cut and he was fired within four months in 2005.
After he was fired, he said, a colleague told him about the photo.
Castle on the Hudson, the hotel that houses Equus, had asked the judge to dismiss the case.
The judge’s ruling, posted Aug. 11, noted the previous court decisions involving New York City’s human rights law.
No court date has been set for the case.
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