LGBT Groups Demand NYC Council Overide Mayor Bloomberg's "Stop & Frisk" Veto

Saying that the NYPD's infamous stop-and-frisk policy unfairly targets LGBT people of color, a coalition of 34 national and local LGBT groups are demanding that the New York City Council override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of their bill to restrict the practice. Via press release:

Today, national and international LGBT organizations – including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Lambda Legal, the National Black Justice Coalition, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and GLAAD – joined with local LGBTQ organizations to urge New York City legislators to defend historic legislation banning discriminatory police profiling against a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“We know all too well the impact that police profiling has on marginalized communities. LGBT people -- especially transgender people and LGBT people of color -- are unjustly targeted by law enforcement for harassment and policing at unbelievably high rates,” said Darlene Nipper, Deputy Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds the New York City Council for passing this historic law and urges all Council Members to stand up for equality and vote to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto.”

The passage of the legislation made history just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act by creating the first enforceable ban against police profiling based on sexual orientation and gender identity, alongside race, religion, immigration status, age, gender, housing status, disability, and HIV status.

The statement issued by 34 local and national LGBTQ organizations noted that “from Stonewall to stop and frisk, LGBTQ people - and particularly LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ youth, and transgender and gender nonconforming people - have long been targets of profiling and other forms of discriminatory policing. The consequences have ranged from death to deportation, assault to arrest, homophobic harassment to humiliation.”

The statement’s signatories called on legislators to “continue to stand firm with LGBTQ people and communities of color, and to vote against efforts to veto this landmark legislation and turn back the clock on this victory. The safety of LGBTQ New Yorkers depends on it.”

The bill was approved by the City Council back in April. Bloomberg vetoed the bill last Wednesday.