kneehighs
12-12-2005, 11:17 PM
I know many of us probably agree that agree about our innate constitutional privilege to wear women's clothes, but I'm sure there are some of us who don't necessarily know how to go about proving that (should the need arise). For those of you who live in nyc, read on. For those of you that don't, maybe you'll move after reading this? :) These are laws that protect your right to wear women's clothes. I know there is another thread here about "changing perceptions" and this is one great example of how legislatively, those perceptions have been legally implemented.
New York City has to be one of the friendliest fashion freestyling cities in the United States. The laws are in our favor here in nyc, so people are encouraged to move here and enjoy the laws protection to the fullest extent. The statutory definition of gender inlcudes a man's fashion freestyling (8-102). That definition can be applied if you are denied access to a public accomodation (8-107.4). That statutory definition also includes prohibitions against harassment from the general public while x-dressing or fashion freestyling (8-602). And you have a private cause of action to enforce the law which means that instead of having to rely on some governmental entity to enforce the law (similar to the FTC, FCC, or SEC), you can initiate a lawsuit with your own lawyer (8-502). These laws are applicable in all five buroughs of the city: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island. Which means that if you are street heeling in some dark alley in the back ghettos of the South Bronx, you are still liberally protected. The legislative framework for publicly protected fashion freestyling has already been made law and herein lies a brief review of the judicial enforcement vehicle for your convenience.
First, check out the New York City Administrative Code's definition of the word gender:
23. The term "gender" shall include actual or perceived sex and shall
also include a person's gender identity, self-image, appearance,
behavior or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image,
appearance, behavior or expression is different from that traditionally
associated with the legal sex assigned to that person at birth.
Second, and of significance for future fashion freestyling, is section 4.
a. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place or provider of public accommodation, because of the actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status of any person, directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, or, directly or indirectly, to make any declaration, publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice or advertisement, to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any such place or provider shall be refused, withheld from or denied to any person on account of race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status or that the patronage or custom of any person belonging to, purporting to be, or
perceived to be, of any particular race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or solicited. b. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this subdivision shall not apply, with respect to age or gender, to places or providers of pub- lic accommodation where the commission grants an exemption based on bona fide considerations of public policy.
Since this is the section of the NYC Admin Code that is very applicable to fashion freestyling in nyc, I have revised and divided the last paragraph for easier reading:
a. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person,
being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place or provider of public accommodation,
because of the actual or perceived...gender....
directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof,
or, directly or indirectly, to make any declaration, publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice or advertisement, to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any such place or provider shall be refused, withheld from or denied to any person on account of gender...
or that the patronage or custom of any person belonging to, purporting to be, or perceived to be, of any...gender
is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or solicited.
So in laymans terms, "public accomodations" refers to providers of goods and services to the public. Restaurants, hospitals, stores, theaters, and even government service providers would be covered under this statute.
Third, the law also includes protections against discriminatory harassment on the basis of a man wearing women's clothes.
;
equitable remedies. a. Whenever a person interferes by threats,
intimidation or coercion or attempts to interfere by threats,
intimidation or coercion with the exercise or enjoyment by any person of
rights secured by the constitution or laws of the United States, the
constitution or laws of this state, or local law of the city and such
interference or attempted interference is motivated in whole or in part
by the victim's actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, age, whether children are, may or would be
residing with such victim, marital status, disability, or alienage or
citizenship status as defined in chapter one of this title, the
corporation counsel, at the request of the city commission on human
rights or on his or her own initiative, may bring a civil action on
behalf of the city for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief
in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the rights
secured.
b. An action pursuant to subdivision a may be brought in any court of
competent jurisdiction.
c. Violation of an order issued pursuant to subdivision a of this
section may be punished by a proceeding for contempt brought pursuant to
article nineteen of the judiciary law and, in addition to any relief
thereunder, a civil penalty may be imposed not exceeding ten thousand
dollars for each day that the violation continues.
So its illegal to knowingly intimidate, threaten, or oppress a man for wearing women's clothes in nyc. How about that?
Now, the best part about the nyc law is that there is actually a PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. That means that you as an individual can sue the offending party directly for it is your private privilege. Enforcement is not an exclusively governmental agency privilege. Some U.S. laws can only be enforced through governmental agencies like the SEC, FCC, or FTC. That is not the case here.
Civil action by persons aggrieved by unlawful discriminatory practices." a. Except as otherwise provided by law, any person claiming
to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice as defined in
chapter one of this title or by an act of discriminatory harassment or
violence as set forth in chapter six of this title shall have a cause of
action in any court of competent jurisdiction for damages, including
punitive damages, and for injunctive relief and such other remedies as
may be appropriate, unless such person has filed a complaint with the
city commission on human rights or with the state division of human
rights with respect to such alleged unlawful discriminatory practice or
act of discriminatory harassment or violence. For purposes of this
subdivision, the filing of a complaint with a federal agency pursuant to
applicable federal law prohibiting discrimination which is subsequently
referred to the city commission on human rights or to the state division
of human rights pursuant to such law shall not be deemed to constitute
the filing of a complaint under this subdivision.
So as long as you file your lawsuit within the very liberal 3 YEAR Statute of Limitations in nyc (pursuant to subsection d), you can sue that bouncer, or sue that bartender, the manager, or better yet, sue each and every one of them including the deep pockets of the corporation itself. The above structure basically spoon feeds you the outline for a lawsuit.
The statutory definition of gender inlcudes a man wearing women's clothes (8-102). That definition can be applied whether you are denied access to a restaurant, a hotel, or a boutique (8-107.4). It can most especially be applied if you are harassed by someone on the street--which could arguably include being made fun of by passerbyers (8-602). And you have a private cause of action to enforce the law too (8-502). The legislative branch of the local government sure has done their job to protect the legal rights of a man to wear women's clothes--even on the job. The judicial aspect is a privilege for the private individual to pursue should he/she choose to do so.
all laws can be found here:
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi
click on laws of new york
then scroll to the very bottom of the screen and click on ADC
New York City has to be one of the friendliest fashion freestyling cities in the United States. The laws are in our favor here in nyc, so people are encouraged to move here and enjoy the laws protection to the fullest extent. The statutory definition of gender inlcudes a man's fashion freestyling (8-102). That definition can be applied if you are denied access to a public accomodation (8-107.4). That statutory definition also includes prohibitions against harassment from the general public while x-dressing or fashion freestyling (8-602). And you have a private cause of action to enforce the law which means that instead of having to rely on some governmental entity to enforce the law (similar to the FTC, FCC, or SEC), you can initiate a lawsuit with your own lawyer (8-502). These laws are applicable in all five buroughs of the city: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island. Which means that if you are street heeling in some dark alley in the back ghettos of the South Bronx, you are still liberally protected. The legislative framework for publicly protected fashion freestyling has already been made law and herein lies a brief review of the judicial enforcement vehicle for your convenience.
First, check out the New York City Administrative Code's definition of the word gender:
23. The term "gender" shall include actual or perceived sex and shall
also include a person's gender identity, self-image, appearance,
behavior or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image,
appearance, behavior or expression is different from that traditionally
associated with the legal sex assigned to that person at birth.
Second, and of significance for future fashion freestyling, is section 4.
a. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place or provider of public accommodation, because of the actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status of any person, directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof, or, directly or indirectly, to make any declaration, publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice or advertisement, to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any such place or provider shall be refused, withheld from or denied to any person on account of race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status or that the patronage or custom of any person belonging to, purporting to be, or
perceived to be, of any particular race, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or solicited. b. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this subdivision shall not apply, with respect to age or gender, to places or providers of pub- lic accommodation where the commission grants an exemption based on bona fide considerations of public policy.
Since this is the section of the NYC Admin Code that is very applicable to fashion freestyling in nyc, I have revised and divided the last paragraph for easier reading:
a. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person,
being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place or provider of public accommodation,
because of the actual or perceived...gender....
directly or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof,
or, directly or indirectly, to make any declaration, publish, circulate, issue, display, post or mail any written or printed communication, notice or advertisement, to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any such place or provider shall be refused, withheld from or denied to any person on account of gender...
or that the patronage or custom of any person belonging to, purporting to be, or perceived to be, of any...gender
is unwelcome, objectionable or not acceptable, desired or solicited.
So in laymans terms, "public accomodations" refers to providers of goods and services to the public. Restaurants, hospitals, stores, theaters, and even government service providers would be covered under this statute.
Third, the law also includes protections against discriminatory harassment on the basis of a man wearing women's clothes.
;
equitable remedies. a. Whenever a person interferes by threats,
intimidation or coercion or attempts to interfere by threats,
intimidation or coercion with the exercise or enjoyment by any person of
rights secured by the constitution or laws of the United States, the
constitution or laws of this state, or local law of the city and such
interference or attempted interference is motivated in whole or in part
by the victim's actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, age, whether children are, may or would be
residing with such victim, marital status, disability, or alienage or
citizenship status as defined in chapter one of this title, the
corporation counsel, at the request of the city commission on human
rights or on his or her own initiative, may bring a civil action on
behalf of the city for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief
in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the rights
secured.
b. An action pursuant to subdivision a may be brought in any court of
competent jurisdiction.
c. Violation of an order issued pursuant to subdivision a of this
section may be punished by a proceeding for contempt brought pursuant to
article nineteen of the judiciary law and, in addition to any relief
thereunder, a civil penalty may be imposed not exceeding ten thousand
dollars for each day that the violation continues.
So its illegal to knowingly intimidate, threaten, or oppress a man for wearing women's clothes in nyc. How about that?
Now, the best part about the nyc law is that there is actually a PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. That means that you as an individual can sue the offending party directly for it is your private privilege. Enforcement is not an exclusively governmental agency privilege. Some U.S. laws can only be enforced through governmental agencies like the SEC, FCC, or FTC. That is not the case here.
Civil action by persons aggrieved by unlawful discriminatory practices." a. Except as otherwise provided by law, any person claiming
to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice as defined in
chapter one of this title or by an act of discriminatory harassment or
violence as set forth in chapter six of this title shall have a cause of
action in any court of competent jurisdiction for damages, including
punitive damages, and for injunctive relief and such other remedies as
may be appropriate, unless such person has filed a complaint with the
city commission on human rights or with the state division of human
rights with respect to such alleged unlawful discriminatory practice or
act of discriminatory harassment or violence. For purposes of this
subdivision, the filing of a complaint with a federal agency pursuant to
applicable federal law prohibiting discrimination which is subsequently
referred to the city commission on human rights or to the state division
of human rights pursuant to such law shall not be deemed to constitute
the filing of a complaint under this subdivision.
So as long as you file your lawsuit within the very liberal 3 YEAR Statute of Limitations in nyc (pursuant to subsection d), you can sue that bouncer, or sue that bartender, the manager, or better yet, sue each and every one of them including the deep pockets of the corporation itself. The above structure basically spoon feeds you the outline for a lawsuit.
The statutory definition of gender inlcudes a man wearing women's clothes (8-102). That definition can be applied whether you are denied access to a restaurant, a hotel, or a boutique (8-107.4). It can most especially be applied if you are harassed by someone on the street--which could arguably include being made fun of by passerbyers (8-602). And you have a private cause of action to enforce the law too (8-502). The legislative branch of the local government sure has done their job to protect the legal rights of a man to wear women's clothes--even on the job. The judicial aspect is a privilege for the private individual to pursue should he/she choose to do so.
all laws can be found here:
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi
click on laws of new york
then scroll to the very bottom of the screen and click on ADC