Lawmakers in New York have introduced legislation that would repeal a decades-old ban on gay bathhouses and replace it with a regulated licensing system, arguing that the restrictions no longer reflect modern public health science.
State Senator Erik Bottcher and Assembly member Tony Simone, both openly gay Democrats representing parts of Manhattan, have put forward the Public Health Modernisation Act, which would scrap regulations introduced during the height of the AIDS crisis in the mid-1980s.
The current rules, adopted in 1985, prohibit establishments from making facilities available for sexual activity and were used to close New York City's gay bathhouses the following year as officials sought to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Under the proposed legislation, adult saunas would be allowed to operate under a state-run licensing framework overseen by the Department of Health, with health and safety regulations replacing the outright prohibition.
Supporters of the bill say advances in HIV prevention, treatment and testing have transformed the public health landscape since the ban was introduced more than four decades ago.
"The year is 2026, not 1986," Simone said in a statement backing the legislation. He argued that evidence-based public health policies developed over the past 30 years demonstrate the need to reconsider the restrictions and bring venues that already exist into a regulated environment.
Bottcher said emergency measures introduced during the AIDS epidemic should not become permanent public policy.
"Actions taken at the height of the AIDS crisis are out of step with modern reality," he said. "The science has changed. Prevention has changed. Treatment has changed. It's time for our laws to change too."
The proposal has received backing from Dr Demetre Daskalakis, chief medical officer at LGBTQ+ healthcare provider Callen-Lorde and a former senior public health official. Daskalakis said bathhouses and similar venues could play a role in health outreach and HIV prevention when properly regulated.
"My own work in these venues has shown that they can also be powerful environments for health outreach and prevention," he said. "By bringing people together rather than pushing them into less visible settings, we create opportunities to build trust and deliver services that improve health outcomes."
Supporters have also pointed to significant declines in HIV diagnoses since the height of the epidemic, alongside the widespread availability of preventative medication such as PrEP. New York could follow Minneapolis, which lifted its own longstanding bathhouse ban earlier this year.
Scene was founded in Brighton in 1993, at a time when news stories about Pride protests were considered radical.
Since then, Scene has remained proudly independent, building a platform for queer voices. Every subscription helps us to report on the stories that matter to LGBTQ+ people across the UK and beyond.
Your support funds our journalists and contributes to Pride Community Foundation’s grant-making and policy work.
Member discussion