LGBTQ youth, City Council members, advocacy advisors, federal officials
Performances:
3
Specific policy issues:
Racial profiling, identification rights for transgender residents, domestic violence response, unlawful searches, LGBTQ discrimination, bystander intervention, and Legal Aid resources.
Impact:
Municipal ID (IDNYC) bill amended to allow applicants to state preferred gender markers without proof of medical procedures or leave gender box blank.
Legislation passed in City Council, impacting millions of New Yorkers.
City Council subsequently created additional laws and policies protecting personal information and ensuring respectful treatment by City agencies.
Long term impact:
IDNYC became inclusive of LGBT and gender non-conforming individuals, with the City Council creating additional protective laws and policies. Established precedent for using Legislative Theatre in NYC policy-making, which grew to include criminal justice reform, housing policy, and immigration policy.
Challenges encountered:
Organizers had to invest more time than anticipated in recruiting participation of policymakers, especially with limited public awareness of these methods, and some policymakers didn’t honor their commitments to attend. Additionally, national policy analysts had less scope to commit to changes in public, leaving the local council members with the responsibility to make commitments to action during the event.
