Daniel J. O'Donnell (born November 17, 1960) is an American politician from the state of New York. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he is a member of the New York State Assembly. O'Donnell represents the 69th district in Manhattan, made up of the neighborhoods of

Manhattan Valley Manhattan Valley (also known as Bloomingdale ) is a neighborhood in the northern part of Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by West 110th Street to the north, Central Park West to the east, West 96th Street to the south, ...

, Morningside Heights, and portions of the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

and West Harlem. He is the older brother to

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

. O'Donnell was the legislative sponsor of the Marriage Equality Act during its successful passage and signature into law on June 24, 2011. In 2010, he ushered in the passage of the anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act. More recently, he led the charge to repeal 50-A and the gay panic defense and authored legislation making all public, single-occupancy bathrooms gender-neutral.

Early life and education

Born in Flushing, Queens, O'Donnell is one of five siblings. He is the brother of entertainer

. Raised in

Commack, New York Commack ( ) is a hamlet and census designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the towns of Huntington and Smithtown in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. The CDP's population was 36,124 at the ...

on Long Island, he attended

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

before transferring to

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

for his Bachelor of Arts. O'Donnell received a Juris Doctor from the

CUNY School of Law The City University of New York School of Law (CUNY School of Law) is a public law school in New York City. It was founded in 1983 as part of the City University of New York. CUNY School of Law was established as a public interest law school wi ...

at Queens College.

Career

After graduating law school in 1984, O'Donnell worked for seven years as a public defender in the criminal defense division of Brooklyn’s Legal Aid Society before opening his own law firm on the Upper West Side. His community practice helped clients with tenant representation, as well as civil rights litigation ranging from employee discrimination to First Amendment rights. Since 2002, he has represented the 69th District in the New York Assembly. O'Donnell first ran for the legislature in 1998, making an unsuccessful bid for the New York State Senate in the 30th district; he lost the Democratic primary to

Eric Schneiderman Eric Tradd Schneiderman (born December 31, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 65th Attorney General of New York from 2011 until his resignation in May 2018. Schneiderman, a member of the Democratic Party, spent ten year ...

. When Assemblyman Edward C. Sullivan announced his retirement in 2002, O'Donnell was one of eight Democrats who entered the race to succeed him. In the crowded primary election held on September 10, 2002, O'Donnell won 34 percent of the vote, twice as much as his nearest competitor. In the general election that followed, he prevailed with 82 percent of the vote. O'Donnell is the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly. O'Donnell ran uncontested in the 2008 and 2010 general elections. He was opposed in the September 13, 2016 Democratic Primary by Steven M. Appel, but won over 73% of the vote. In 2008, O'Donnell was considered by New York Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. ...

to fill the Senate vacancy created by the appointment of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

as President Obama's Secretary of State. Paterson ultimately appointed upstate Congresswoman

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...

to the seat. In 2019, O'Donnell sought the New York City Public Advocate seat being vacated by Letitia James, who had been elected for New York State attorney general. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by

Jumaane Williams Jumaane D. Williams ( ; born May 11, 1976) is an American activist and politician who has served as the New York City Public Advocate since 2019. He is a former member of the New York City Council from the 45th district, which includes East Fla ...

Committees

As of 2017, O'Donnell serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development and Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedure. Previously, O'Donnell served as Chair of the Assembly Committee Corrections, Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance, as well as Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedure of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. He also serves on a number of full committees, namely: *Committee on Codes *Committee on Education *Committee on Environmental Conservation *Committee on Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force

Legislation

On June 19, 2007, O'Donnell ushered the Marriage Equality Act, a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in New York State, to passage by a vote of 85–61. Although the bill passed the Assembly and had the support of then-Governor Eliot Spitzer, the Republican-controlled

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

did not take up the measure. O'Donnell once again led the fight for a same-sex marriage bill in 2009, shepherding it to passage twice more, by a vote of 89–52 in May, and by a vote of 88–51 in December. O'Donnell introduced the Marriage Equality bill in the Assembly for the 2011–2012 legislative session on May 10, 2011. The Marriage Equality Act was passed by the NYS Assembly on June 15, 2011, and passed the NYS Senate and was signed into law by Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...

slightly before midnight on Friday, June 24, 2011. O'Donnell was the prime sponsor of the Dignity for All Students Act, one of the first laws in New York history to explicitly include protections based on gender identity and expression. In 2019, New York enacted his legislation to ban the so-called gay and trans "panic" defense, which asks a jury to find that a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for a defendant's violent reaction, including even murder. One year later, the legislature passed O'Donnell’s bill requiring single-occupancy bathrooms to be gender-neutral with overwhelming bi-partisan support. Beginning in 2017, O'Donnell introduced legislation to repeal 50-a, which prevents the public disclosure of police records. The legislation languished until 2020, when the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

renewed campaigns for repeal. On June 10, the New York State Legislature voted to repeal 50-a and on June 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed to repeal the law. The law repeals 50-a in its entiretyallowing individuals, lawyers, and the press to request police disciplinary files that have long been held in secret. Additional legislative victories include: successfully lowering NYC speed limits to 25 mph; expanding sexual harassment protections to unpaid interns; mandating mental health discharge plans for incarcerated individuals; and passing the Domestic Violence Escalation Prevention Act, which bans individuals convicted of domestic violence from owning any type of firearm.

Personal life

In 2011, O'Donnell was featured in ''

Out Magazine ''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. It presents itself in an editorial manner similar to '' Details'', ''Esquire' ...

s "Out 100," the magazine's list of the year's 100 most inspiring individuals. On January 29, 2012, O'Donnell married his partner of 31 years, John Banta. The ceremony and reception were attended by over 400 people including Governor

, Assembly Speaker

Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan' ...

, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Attorney General

, New York City Council Speaker

Christine Quinn Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and first ...

, many of his colleagues from the Assembly and State Senate, family, and friends. The couple were married by

Judith Kaye Judith Ann Kaye ( Smith; August 4, 1938 – January 7, 2016) was an American lawyer, jurist and the longtime Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, serving in that position from March 23, 1993, until December 31, 2008. She was the fir ...

, the former chief justice of the state Court of Appeals. He has been interviewed in periodicals for the "Bear" community.Michael Goldberg, "Danny O'Donell: Attorney, Assemblyman ... Bear!" ''A Bear's Life'' Autumn 2005, Cover, 18–19.

References

External links

O'Donnell's NY State Assembly web pageState Assembly 69th district map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Daniel J. 1960 births 21st-century American politicians CUNY School of Law alumni Gay politicians George Washington University alumni LGBT state legislators in New York (state) Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Flushing, Queens People from Morningside Heights, Manhattan People from Commack, New York People from Greenpoint, Brooklyn Public defenders