• Pass Senate Bill S1268(KRUEGER) to establish an Equal Rights Amendment which would create full, comprehensive, and equal legal protections for every individual in New York, reflecting a commitment and pathway to eradicate the systemic racism that is woven through the fabric of our society - from health care to voting rights to policing.

New York State is the birthplace of the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement. The Stonewall riots of 1969 led to the liberation movement of the LGBTQIA+community. In 1970, the nation's first Gay Pride Parade commenced, honoring the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The movement shed light on the discrimination the LGBTQIA+ community faced for decades. Seven years later, in 1977, the New York Supreme Court ruled Renee Richards, a transgender woman, could play tennis at the United States Tennis tournament as a woman.

The Bronx & Westchester is home to many LGBTQIA+ individuals. In New York, nearly 52 years after the Stonewall Riots, the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face discrimination in housing, criminal justice, education, health care, immigration, and economic mobility. I've fought hard to elevate the LGBTQIA+ community and will continue to do so in the New York State Senate once elected. I want to continue ensuring that the LGBTQIA+ community lives a dignified life.

Everyone should have access to a safe and healthy life. Queer and trans people continue to be targeted for their existence, and our responsibility is to ensure their access to quality housing, healthcare, and employment. The LGBTQIA+ community continues to suffer high poverty and unemployment rates and is vulnerable to harassment and violence. We must create safeguards that will allow the LGBTQIA+ community to prosper and thrive.

As your State Senator, I will fight to:

• Expand Senate Bill S8884A, The Lorena Borjas Transgender and Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund Act.

• Advance An LGBTQ+ Specific Targeted Hiring Program.

• Advocate for an increase in the LGBTQ Health and Human Services Budget.

• Pass Senate Bill S688 to Mandate Insurance Coverage for PrEP/PEP.

• Pass Senate Bill S8061 to protect Gender Affirming Care in Self-Funded Plans.

• Pass Senate Bill S7618 to educate Medicaid Recipients about the benefits of PrEP/PEP.

• Pass Senate Bill S2584A, establishing Comprehensive Sex Education in schools.

• Pass Senate Bill S1729, including LGBTQ+ History in NYS Education Curriculum.

• Pass Senate Bill S85 to establish an LGBT Long Term Care Facilities Bill of Rights.

• Pass Senate Bill S3075 to implement the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act.

• Pass Senate Bill S6677, the Gender Identity Respect, Dignity, and Safety Act.

As bodily autonomy and reproductive rights face opposition at the federal level in New York State, we must be fervent in protecting these rights. We must work to establish parity in the workforce by closing the gender pay gap to ensure women are paid equal wages for equal work.

As your State Senator, I will fight to:

• Defend the Reproductive Health Act, which expanded access to abortion care and codified Roe in New York State's constitution.

• Pass Senate Bill S9078, enacting the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program, to ensure access to abortion care in the state by providing funding to abortion providers and non-profit organizations whose primary function is facilitating access to abortion care.

• Pass Senate Bill S758, establishing an Abortion Access Fund that would be financed by the voluntary contribution of New Yorkers via their state income tax return form.

• Pass Senate Bill S8777, which prohibits the extradition of abortion providers.

• Pass Senate Bill S8778, which provides certain legal protections for providers of legal abortions in this state.

• Pass Senate Bill S8779, which prohibits courts from issuing subpoenas if other states try to initiate legal proceedings on New York providers.

• Pass Senate Bill S9039, which modifies civil-rights law to empower people to sue in New York State Supreme Court if their home state tries to criminalize them for receiving abortion care here.

• Pass Senate Bill S5598C, which requires employers to disclose compensation or range of compensation to applicants and employees.

As the son of immigrants, I have seen first-hand the challenges immigrant families are forced to overcome. New York State must ensure the basic human dignity and core constitutional and human rights of everyone, regardless of race or immigration status, especially in the immigration and criminal legal systems, by:

• Ensuring all immigrants facing deportation have the right to an attorney,

• Ceasing over-policing and unconstitutional stops by law enforcement, and

• Prohibiting all state and local government employees from collaborating with federal immigration authorities to facilitate immigration-related arrests and detention.

As your State Senator, I will fight to:

• Pass Senate Bill S3076A, The New York For All Act, helping immigrant New Yorkers lead freer lives and take care of family, preserving state and local resources for our communities, and ensuring New York dollars cannot be diverted to carry out ICE cruelty.

• Pass Senate Bill S7879, The New York is Home Act, guaranteeing human rights protections to non-citizens, granting voting rights in state and local level elections, and extending access to social services.

• Pass Senate Bill S7562, which prohibits and regulates the discovery and disclosure of immigration status by police officers and other public employees and state entities. This legislation is critical to ensuring that immigrant New Yorkers can live and work without the constant fear of their personal information being turned over to ICE.