While it masquerades as an effort to promote equality, Bill S.155-Krueger/A.1142-Kelles is a dishonest piece of legislation that would impose transgender ideology upon New York law.
The bill memorandum asserts that “the laws of New York State are equally applicable to everyone, and the language used in our laws…should be gender neutral.” Accordingly, the bill would require future New York laws, regulations, and ordinances to use the pronouns “they” or “their” instead of “his” or “her.” However, the bill goes beyond gender neutrality by accommodating transgenderism. If future laws, regulations, and ordinances refer to specific individuals, this bill would require that “the language referring to such [persons] be gendered in accordance with the gender [identities] of such [persons].” In other words, if a future law mentions a biological male who self-identifies as a woman, that law would be required to use “she” and “her” pronouns to describe that male. Given that it is impossible for a male to become a female or for a female to become a male, this provision is dishonest and unacceptable.
Furthermore, this legislation provides that “whenever words of the masculine or feminine gender appear in any law, rule or regulation, unless the sense of the sentence indicates otherwise, they shall be deemed to refer to persons of any gender.” The use of the words “any gender” rather than “either gender” falsely implies that there are more than two sexes.
Transgenderism is “the belief that every person has a ‘gender identity’ (an inner sense of being male, female, something else, or in between) distinct from his or her sex and that, when the two conflict, gender identity should take precedence.”[1] To say the least, there is no consensus in support of transgenderism amongst New Yorkers; therefore, the laws of this state should not be required to conform to it. Bill S.155-Krueger/A.1142-Kelles should not become law.
[1] Kearns, Madeleine. “Gender Expectations: Trans identity in teens considered as a social contagion.” National Review, vol. LXXV, no. 3, February 20, 2023, pp. 21-23.