Zohran Mamdani celebrates trans New Yorkers during Pride Month with new campaign
"Trans New Yorkers are protected by law. Our City will protect your rights, defend your humanity and stand beside you without hesitation," wrote Mamdani
By Aaron Sugg
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated Pride Month by launching a public awareness campaign called ‘Trans Rights Are Human Rights’.
Teaming up with the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the campaign is intended to remind trans and gender-nonconforming residents that their rights are protected in New York City.
Under the New York City Human Rights Law, and reinforced under Mamdani’s leadership, discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression is illegal. The law also prohibits discriminatory harassment, retaliation and bias-based profiling.
“Trans New Yorkers are protected by law” – Zohran Mamdani marking Pride Month with his new trans rights campaign
In conjunction with Pride Month, New Yorkers will see educational posters, banners and digital advertisements across the city throughout June, designed by trans animator Dez Stavracos.
Stavracos said they were completely “overwhelmed” and “cried over the announcement”, adding, “I’m proud to be in this fight, pushing back with my art.”
Marking the campaign announcement on social media, Mamdani wrote: “Discrimination based on gender identity or expression is illegal in New York City,”
“Trans New Yorkers are protected by law. Our City will protect your rights, defend your humanity and stand beside you without hesitation.”
“You deserve a city where you can afford to live safely” – Mamdani celebrating New York’s LGBTQ+ history
To mark Pride Month on X on 1 June, Mamdani honoured the contributions of queer and transgender New Yorkers, adding that a month of celebration is not enough.
“From the Cercle Hermaphroditos in 1895, the first trans advocacy group in the United States, to the drag balls of the Harlem Renaissance, to the Stonewall uprising, to the Lesbian Herstory Archives, to ACT UP!, founded in 1987 as queer people fought for their lives while the Reagan administration looked away, New York City’s history has long been shaped by queer and trans New Yorkers,” said Mamdani.
“To all our queer and trans neighbours: you deserve a city where you can afford to live safely, openly and joyfully,” he said. “Happy Pride, New York City.”
Under Mamdani, New York has appointed the city’s first-ever Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs
It would take far more than a month to honor the contributions of queer and transgender New Yorkers.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) June 1, 2026
From the Cercle Hermaphroditos in 1895, the first trans advocacy group in the United States, to the drag balls of the Harlem Renaissance, to the Stonewall uprising, to the…
Mamdani, who took office in 2025, has advanced LGBTQ+ representation in city government, including establishing the city’s first-ever Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.
Taylor Brown is the first trans person to head a city office, overseeing New York City’s LGBTQ+ initiatives, advancing anti-discrimination policies and reinforcing sanctuary protections for the community.
Expanding the LGBTQ+ office cohort, he has also appointed Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, a Black lesbian librarian, to lead the New York City Department of Records, overseeing the city’s archives.
What has Mamdani said about Donald Trump?
Mamdani, who moved from Uganda to the United States at age seven, has been described as a pioneering LGBTQ+ ally and progressive political figure, a stance that strengthened during his 2025 mayoral campaign.
During his campaign, he described president Donald Trump’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights as “threatening”, calling for New York City to stand up to the republicans.
Speaking out on social media during his bid for mayor, he said: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Donald Trump’s assault on trans rights.”