Thomas K. Duane
| Thomas K. Duane | |
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| Member of the New York Senate from the 29th district |
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In office January 1999 – 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Catherine Abate |
| Succeeded by | Brad Hoylman |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 3rd district | |
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In office January 1992 – January 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Carol Greitzer |
| Succeeded by | Christine C. Quinn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 30, 1955 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | New York City |
| Website | tomduane.com |
Thomas K. Duane (born January 30, 1955) is an American politician from New York, who served in the New York State Senate from 1999 to 2012.
Duane was the only openly gay member of the New York State Senate. He represented the 29th Senate District, which stretches along Manhattan's West Side from 85th Street to Canal Street, and includes the following neighborhoods: Upper West Side, Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and part of the East Side, including the East Village, Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village and Waterside Plaza.
First elected to the Senate in 1998, he took office the following January and has won re-election every two years. He is the past Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, and he is currently that committee’s Ranking Minority Member.
His signature legislative accomplishments in the New York State legislature to date has been the passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) (2002) and Timothy's Law, which requires mental health parity for patients by insurance companies (2006) which were subsequently signed into law by Governor George Pataki.
He was also instrumental in the ultimate passage of the Hate Crimes Protection Act, which stipulates longer penalties for those convicted of alleged hate crimes, and mandates that New York State keep an active database of these crimes and "Manny's Law," which requires hospitals to disclose to indigent patients the availability of state-sponsored funds for health care costs.
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