State Lawmakers Make Final Push for LGBTQ Initiatives in Albany

With the legislative session winding down in Albany, a handful of LGBTQ-related bills are pending in the State Legislature.

One piece of legislation, called the Survivors of Trafficking Attaining Relief Together (START) Act, would more comprehensively vacate convictions for sex trafficking victims. It has cleared both chambers and awaits the governor’s signature.

While there are already pathways for trafficking victims to vacate sex work-related convictions, this legislation goes a step further by scrubbing convictions for other offenses victims have been forced to commit.

The bill has the support of more than 100 organizations statewide and has been a key priority for LGBTQ advocates since the state repealed a loitering law described as a ban on Walking While Trans, though advocacy for the legislation has been in the works for some time. The late Lorena Borjas, a Queens-based trans activist and community leader who died of COVID last year, championed the effort after she realized some of her own convictions remained on the books.

Read more: https://www.gaycitynews.com/state-lawmakers-make-final-push-for-lgbtq-initiatives-in-albany/