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A New York statue that criminalized “loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution” — also referred to as the “walking while trans” ban — was repealed Tuesday. “Today is a new day for transgender New Yorkers,” said @HRC’s Alphonso David.https://bit.ly/2O59uwI 

For decades, civil rights and criminal justice advocates have argued that the law exposed transgender women of color, particularly, to discriminatory policing and harassment.https://bit.ly/2O59uwI 

Police could arrest any person on the street, sidewalk, park or subway for repeatedly attempting to engage people in conversation — as long as the police officer read those actions as “intent to engage in prostitution.”https://bit.ly/2O59uwI 

According to the bill, officers have warned trans people that they would “be arrested if they were seen outside after midnight.” One officer testified that he was trained to identify prostitutes by looking for “Adam’s apples, big hands and big feet.”https://bit.ly/2O59uwI 

Lawmakers at the time justified the law by citing rampant street crime, prostitution and other “maladies” in New York.https://bit.ly/2O59uwI