Standing alongside the co-chairs of the City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus, dozens of advocates fed up with attacks on gender-affirming care huddled on the steps of City Hall on April 24 and chanted, “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

The rally set the stage for an eventful day at City Hall just hours before lawmakers approved a package of bills intended to protect gender-affirming care across the five boroughs after several hospitals either cancelled appointments or otherwise pulled back on care for youth and some adults in recent months as a result of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year.