Daniel J. O'Donnell

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

A Democrat, 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, Morningside Heights, and portions of the Upper West Side and West Harlem.

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.

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.

Since 2002, he has represented the 69th District in the New York Assembly.

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.

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 did not take up the measure.

O'Donnell ran uncontested in the 2008 and 2010 general elections.

In 2008, O'Donnell was considered by New York Governor David Paterson to fill the Senate vacancy created by the appointment of Hillary Clinton as President Obama's Secretary of State.

Paterson ultimately appointed upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to the seat.

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.

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.

Born in Flushing, Queens, O'Donnell is one of five siblings.

He is the brother of entertainer Rosie O'Donnell.

Raised in Commack, New York on Long Island, he attended The Catholic University of America before transferring to George Washington University for his Bachelor of Arts.

O'Donnell received a Juris Doctor from the CUNY School of Law at Queens College.

O'Donnell was the legislative sponsor of the Marriage Equality Act during its successful passage and signature into law on June 24, 2011.

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 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.

He was opposed in the September 13, 2016 Democratic Primary by Steven M. Appel, but won over 73% of the vote.

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:

Beginning in 2017, O'Donnell introduced legislation to repeal 50-a, which prevents the public disclosure of police records.

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.

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.

The legislation languished until 2020, when the murder of George Floyd 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 entirety – allowing 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.