While many in the queer community watch stunned in disbelief as anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation designed to dismantle transgender healthcare sweeps across America, a gay councilmember in the heart of queer New York City is refusing to stand still.
Erik Bottcher, representing the historic neighborhoods where Stonewall’s legacy lives on, isn’t just posting rainbow flags or offering sympathetic tweets (the queer equivalent of ‘thoughts and prayers’)—he’s wielding legislative power.
As the current administration actively worked in its first weeks to roll back transgender rights through executive orders, Bottcher and his allies on the city’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus were busy on the counteroffensive, creating a bold legislative package designed to safeguard transgender, gender non-conforming, nonbinary, and intersex (TGNCNBI) New Yorkers.
“We stand in total solidarity with our transgender siblings,” Bottcher said in a statement, saying that while some are “trying to erase the very existence of trans people, we are advocating for policies that greatly expand protections for trans New Yorkers.”
The legislative package includes several critical bills, including Int. 1200, which would create a comprehensive “know your rights” campaign to educate TGNCNBI individuals about protections against discrimination, access to gender-affirming care, legal name and gender marker changes, and community resources. Bottcher has also co-sponsored Int. 1203, which would develop support systems for young TGNCNBI migrants under age 25 who are new to the city.
For Bottcher, his work on behalf of the vulnerable in the queer community is deeply personal. Growing up in a small Adirondack Mountain town in upstate New York as the only queer person he knew led to overwhelming struggles with depression and self-acceptance. At just 15, after multiple attempts to take his own life, he was admitted to a mental health facility in Saratoga Springs, NY. After graduating from high school, he penned an open letter to his school board about the bullying he endured, which prompted the district to add “sexual orientation” to its non-discrimination policy.
Bottcher graduated from George Washington University, then made his way to Manhattan, like so many other queer people searching for community. He hustled his way through various jobs before landing a position in government. In 2009, he became the LGBT and HIV/AIDS liaison for the New York City Council, stepping up during a critical time. His work wasn’t just policy—it was personal. He tackled hate crimes and pushed back against bullying in schools.
His political career continued as LGBTQ+ liaison in the governor’s office, where he worked for the successful passage of marriage equality in New York in 2011. In 2015, he became chief of staff to gay Councilmember Corey Johnson, who later became City Council Speaker. Bottcher was elected to succeed the term-limited Johnson in 2021 as representative for City Council District 3, which includes the West Village, Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen, areas with rich LGBTQ+ history and vibrant communities. He is currently running for a second and final four-year term.
The current legislative effort to safeguard TGNCNBI rights demonstrates Bottcher’s continued dedication to these principles. “At the heart of the LGBTQIA+ rights movement, New York City must be a beacon of support and love for our entire community,” he emphasizes. “An attack on one part of our community is an attack on all of us. The LGBTQIA+ Caucus will protect the rights of our community at all costs.”
As anti-LGBTQ+ legislators continue to attack trans rights around the country—from banning healthcare to rolling back rights in schools—Bottcher and his colleagues in New York’s City Council aren’t just resisting, they’re building safeguards to ensure that the city will continue to be a place where queer youth can grow up safe and thrive.
Bottcher gets it because he’s lived it. From a scared, closeted kid to a fierce LGBTQ+ champion, his journey proves what happens when the community takes power.