New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is stepping into office with one of the strongest pro-LGBTQ+ agendas the city has ever seen, and his record backs it up. As a state representative, Mamdani helped repeal the “Walking While Trans” ban, cosponsored the Gender Recognition Act allowing legal gender changes and the “X” marker, and supported the state’s shield law protecting providers and patients of gender-affirming care. His campaign now promises a major expansion of queer protections.
His platform says, “Queer and trans people across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment…New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people.” Mamdani has pledged $65 million for healthcare centers offering gender-affirming care, vowing accountability for private hospitals that “sell out young trans New Yorkers to the Trump administration.
He also promises to make NYC a sanctuary city for LGBTQ+ people and recipients of gender-affirming care, ensuring local resources cannot be used to aid out-of-state prosecutions. A new Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs would oversee nondiscrimination enforcement, legal support, and more — backed by $87 million in funding for housing, mental health, trans-serving organizations, workforce programs, education, healthcare, and legal defense. Mamdani says his administration “will be committed to protecting the rights of queer and trans New Yorkers… to live and thrive without the threat of persecution and bigotry.”
