LGBT Rights

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An Activist for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Communities

Bill Thompson is one of our City's most outspoken advocates for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) communities. When it comes to fighting for LGBT rights, Bill has employed a two-tiered approach-combining outspoken public support with pension investment policies designed to protect civil rights.

As City Comptroller, Bill:

* Is committed to achieving full marriage equality for same-sex couples in New York State. Bill believes marriage equality a civil rights issue and has been a long-time advocate of legalizing same-sex marriage. This May, Bill issued a study finding that the City stood to reap $210 million in economic gains in only three years if same-sex marriage were legalized.

* Uses the economic might of the City's Pension Funds to call on America's largest companies to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. To date, nearly 75 companies have amended their policies, most in the Fortune 500. For his work Bill received the Champion Award from Out and Equal Workplace Advocates.

* Fights for increased HIV/AIDS prevention, care and housing. Bill will improve our City's outreach to at-risk communities, and work to stop the spread of HIV in communities hardest hit by the virus. He supports HASA for All to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS have stable and reliable access to housing, and as Comptroller he conducted audits to recommend improvements to housing placement services.

* Supports the full implementation of the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). Bill believes in the rights of all children to attend school without fear of being bullied or harassed. The Comptroller's Office of Policy Management testified before the City Council in support of the bill when it was introduced in 2004, and continued to speak out after Mayor Bloomberg vetoed this bill.

* Advocates for the rights of transgender New Yorkers. Bill is a long-time supporter of gender identity-inclusive non-discrimination policies. He opposed the removal of gender identity language in the 2007 federal ENDA bill. On the state level, Bill fully supports passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act in the State Legislature.

* Supported Intro. 137, the Equal Benefits bill, requiring contractors conducting business with the City of New York to extend benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. While Mayor Bloomberg vetoed this law and then challenged it in court, Bill Thompson argued that firms must make it their "business to offer equal benefits, or you won't do business with the City of New York."