The Ulster County Legislature will hold a public hearing next month on a new proposed local law to expand the existing Human Rights Law to include gender expression as a protected category from discrimination. The proposed local law has been dubbed the “Drag is Not a Crime Act.”
“Across the country we are seeing drag performers and members of the LGBTQ+ community threatened by extremists in their towns and state legislatures, despite live entertainment being protected speech enshrined in the First Amendment,” said vice chair Peter Criswell (D-City of Kingston) in a May 15 press release. “This law will forever ensure that Ulster County is a welcoming space for drag performers to express themselves freely and without bias or harassment.”
“The already vulnerable populations of Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual+ (2SLGBTQIA+) individuals have fallen under attack with introduction of discriminatory legislation across the United States,” reads the text of the proposed law. “The American Civil Liberties Union has identified the introduction of 452 anti-2SLGBTQIA+ bills in 2023, with more introduced every day, endangering the health, safety and well-being of non-heterosexual and gender non-conforming individuals.”
Criswell, the former executive director of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston, said the far right’s recent efforts to ban drag performance are “yet another way to harm the LGBTQ+ community.”
“(At the LGBTQ Center) we would get calls all the time from people who would say, ‘I’m being harassed where I live. People see me dressed in a way that they, they think I shouldn’t be dressed and they’re harassing me,’” Criswell said. “We have to have recourse for people.”
The Legislature last week voted 20-2 to open a public hearing on Tuesday, June 13 at 7 p.m. during the next regular session, with Joe Maloney (D-Saugerties) and Kevin Roberts (R-Plattekill) the lone holdouts.
Criswell said he was inspired to author the proposed law because of anti-drag legislation either passed or moving forward in states like Tennessee and Arkansas.
“I felt like we should be proactive here in Ulster County and really make a statement and say we are going to be protecting our community,” Criswell said. “And the way that people express themselves is something that’s important, especially in the LGBTQ+ community.”
The introductory local law would add gender expression to what Criswell said is a “very robust” Human Rights Law.
“The Ulster County Legislature recognizes, finds and determines that the laws and regulations of the United States of America and the State of New York prohibit acts of discrimination, including discrimination in employment, discrimination in public accommodations, resort and amusement, discrimination in housing accommodation, discrimination in commercial space and land transactions, and discrimination in the issuing of credit based upon impermissible considerations relating to a person’s race, color, religion, ethnicity, creed, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, familial status, gender, including gender identity, gender expression, gender dysphoria, transgender status, group identity, marital status, sexual orientation or disability,” reads the amended Human Rights Law as proposed.
Under the Human Rights Law, last modified in 2018, those who believe they are the victim of discrimination based on gender expression can file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, which will investigate the claim and could result in an award up to $20,000 in damages following a determination of discrimination.
Criswell said adding gender expression to the county’s Human Rights Law was a necessary step.
“There’s a difference between gender identity and gender expression,” Criswell said. “Gender identity really is who you are. You know who you are intrinsically, you know who you feel you are. And gender expression is the way that you express that in the world and express that publicly. And so for somebody to be threatened by the way that they express themselves publicly is just wrong.”
During the legislative meeting held on Tuesday, May 16, the “Drag is Not a Crime Act” had support not only to set the proposed law for a public hearing, but also in spirit.
“I think it’s needed in light of what’s going on in other jurisdictions around the country,” said Eric Stewart (D-Hurley and Marbletown).“I think it goes a long way to ensuring that Ulster County recognizes that all people, regardless of their situation, deserve dignity and respect.”
Phil Erner (D-City of Kingston) said he expected there will be considerable support for the proposed law on June 13.
“I think we will hear many stories at this public hearing if I have anything to do with turning people out,” Erner said. “The legislation has ‘drag is not a crime’ right in it. So the idea is that if someone wishes to dress differently from the gender you or a person other than them might assume that they are or decide that they should be, then that’s not okay to discriminate against them based on that expression.”
Attending the meeting virtually, Kathy Nolan (D-Denning, Hardenburgh, Olive and Shandaken) agreed.
“We impose on each other many things that are really unnecessary, and if somebody else wants to try to tell me how to dress, it just doesn’t seem fair,” Nolan said.“It hasn’t seemed fair to me since I was little. And fortunately, young people in the world today are recognizing this…and it’s exciting to me that we don’t have to be in a binary world.”
In a May 15 press release, County Executive Jen Metzger said she supported the proposed law.
“Everyone should be able to live and thrive without fear of discrimination or prejudice, but unfortunately we are seeing more and more attacks nationwide on transgender and gender non-conforming individuals,” Metzger said. “By expanding Ulster County’s Human Rights Law to include gender expression, we can better protect the safety and wellbeing of community members and foster a more inclusive community.”
Maloney said he cast a dissenting vote because he didn’t see how the change would add any practical protection that people didn’t already have. He cited the Legislature’s 2018 ban on conversion therapy upon a minor as something he could support because his questions about how it would work were answered.
“Give me an example or a hypothetical of this being used,” Maloney said. “All these things, they sound good, but we’re really not doing the work of the people. We’re doing things that sound good that we can bring back to our community and say, see what I did, and fill a place up with 200 speakers that are no more protected than they were before we passed this.”
Criswell objected to Maloney’s assessment of the proposed law.
“First of all, this legislation is not about me feeling good, no matter what you say, period,” Criswell said.“What we’re doing here is we are including gender expression into our current human rights law. It does not exist. Those words, gender expression, do not exist in our current human rights law. That’s what we’re doing.”
The proposed local law has 12 co-sponsors, and Criswell said he expects it will have both supporters and detractors at the June 13 public hearing.
“It’s a sad fact that many people in this world and here in Ulster County are filled with hate,” Criswell said during the May 16 meeting.“I was going to read the online comments about this law we’re proposing, comments that threatened harm and violence towards LGBTQ+ community members. I decided not to do that. Those such comments demonstrate precisely the need for this law. In addition to the hate speech, I’ve also seen abundant appreciation for this action we’re about to take. People who have been living in fear every day are feeling heard, seen and protected. As I cast my vote, I’m keeping foremost in my mind their hopes for belonging and inclusion.”
Join the family! 
