Cuomo To Take Legal Action Against Trump’s LGBTQ Adoption Policy
Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday said the state would take legal action against a proposed Trump administration policy change that would allow foster care and adoption agencies to deny their services to LGBTQ families on faith-based grounds.
The Department of Health and Human Services released the rule change on Friday, which would roll back a 2016 discrimination regulation that the Obama administration instituted that included sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes
“Once again the Trump administration is attacking the hard-earned rights and protections of the LGBTQ community, this time proposing a new measure that would give foster care and adoption agencies license to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Cuomo.
“Trump’s proposal isn’t just discriminatory and repugnant to our values — it’s also heartless and dumb as it would deny countless children a loving family and a safe place to call home. If he moves forward with this rule, we’ll take legal action to stop it.
“No matter what happens in Washington, New York State is and will continue to be a beacon of equality in this country. Our Human Rights Law and adoption regulations expressly prohibit discrimination against the LGBTQ community, including when it comes to adoption. I encourage any LGBTQ New Yorker who feels they are a victim of this discrimination to contact the State Division of Human Rights for assistance,” the governor added.
Addabbo Teams With Red Cross To Promote Home Fire Safety
State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, parts of South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside, The Rockaways) recently met with representatives from the American Red Cross’s Greater New York Region, in support of their Home Fire Campaign.
The American Red Cross explained to Addabbo how the organization responds to a disaster every eight minutes in the US, and how most of those emergencies are house fires. Tragically, these disasters take seven lives each day, and cause over $7 billion in property damage every year. But many of these disasters can be prevented with the simple installation of a fire alarm, the knowledge on how to use it and what to do in the case of an emergency.
As a way to help educate his constituents on fire safety, Addabbo is once again joining the American Red Cross to promote their Home Fire Safety Campaign.
“The American Red Cross provides emergency assistance to people every single day who need it most, so I was happy to jump on board with the Sound the Alarm campaign again this year,” Addabbo said. “I am grateful that the American Red Cross asked me to be a part of this campaign again, and I hope my constituents take advantage of their services and get free smoke alarms installed in their homes.”
As part of the Sound the Alarm event, trained Red Cross volunteers will come to an individual’s home via appointments to install free smoke alarms and provide fire safety education. Since its inception in 2014, the Home Fire Campaign has completed the installation of more than 1.8 million smoke alarms and prepared more than 1 million people against home fires across the country.
Kim Discusses Inclusive Ledger On “The Damage Report”
Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Whitestone, Flushing, College Point, Murray Hill) last week spoke to John Iadarola, from “The Damage Report”, on the widely viewed The Young Turks channel.
Kim spoke about the Inclusive Value Ledger (IVL), a transformative public payment system that will turn New York’s annual $55 billion worth of individual tax credits and social benefits into multipliable money, designed to capture unvalued work in our local economies:
The interview took place after Kim and Professor Robert Hockett recently published an op-ed in the American Prospect and the New York Daily News on the IVL. In the next few months, the two will speak at various conferences and public seminars to discuss their proposal to make money more inclusive.
