John Gilmore Goes Back to Albany to Lobby for Medical Freedom

One man fighting for all of us at the Capitol!

On Wednesday May 21, the President of Autism Action Network (AAN) John Gilmore went back to Albany, NY to lobby in favor of the bills we support and against the bills we oppose. Teachers for Choice is working in partnership with AAN for the 2025 legislative session and beyond.

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Gilmore arrived in Albany exactly one week after our rally for medical freedom, which was titled Restore and Reclaim: Our Jobs, Our Exemptions, Our Rights! The rally included prominent speakers such as Mary Holland, Naomi Wolf, Jimmy Wagner, Bobbie Anne Cox, Shannon Joy and John Gilmore himself.

On May 21, Gilmore distributed over 200 packets of support and opposition memos to every member of the Senate and Assembly at the Capitol in Albany. The slate of bills we support is called the Human Rights Agenda, and can be found here:

There is at least one bill in the Human Rights Agenda that seems to have all the necessary elements to become law this session, and that’s the Education for All Act. The bill is sponsored by Democrats in both houses and not one Democrat who we have met with has disagreed with us on the merits of the bill so far. They have all told us that we need to “gain momentum” to get the bill to pass. Learn more about this bill here:

I sat down with my friend and colleague John Gilmore to discuss what this follow-up lobbying experience was like for him, and to get an idea of what the overall climate in Albany feels like. Gilmore has been lobbying medical freedom issues in Albany for over two decades, and he has been successful in getting bills to become laws before.

“The sheer level of hostility against us has dropped,” said Gilmore as we spoke at a bagel shop in Long Beach, NY.

During COVID the hostility against us in Albany was so intense they wouldn’t even let us inside of the Capitol or Legislative Office Building! Back on January 5, 2022 in the blistering cold, we brought out over 4,000 people to Albany in opposition to COVID mandates, but Governor Kathy Hochul locked the doors forcing us to rally exclusively outside:

Read about that here: https://teachersforchoice.org/2022/01/06/5000-anti-mandate-protesters-at-new-york-capitol/

On Gilmore’s one-man-lobby-day this week, he had many very well received conversations with lawmakers and their staffers in Albany, including one with a top staffer in Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz’s office. For those who don’t know, Dinowitz has been Big Pharma’s #1 puppet in the Assembly for at least a decade or more. He was the sponsor of the bill that repealed the religious exemption to vaccination for kids in 2019.

“I think the elected officials in Albany are starting to realize that the whole ‘support the vaccine industry do-or-die’ type of attitude is not going to serve them well,” said Gilmore. “The bad COVID experience has impacted everyone, including Albany lawmakers and their families. So they seem more willing to talk and more open to change now.”

John Gilmore with Senator Alexis Weik

John was able to touch base with some of our closest friends in Albany too, including Senator Alexis Weik from Long Island. I first met Weik in Rita Palma’s backyard during a 2020 campaign event before she was elected to office. This was at the height of COVID and to hear her common sense approach to public health and vaccination was a breath of fresh air at the time. I have adored Alexis ever since! She is one of our biggest supporters and is a sponsor of many of the bills on our Human Rights Agenda.

John Gilmore with David DiPietro

Another medical freedom legend in Albany is David DiPietro. He is the sponsor of the bill to bring back the religious exemption to vaccination for children to attend school in New York. He is also a sponsor of multiple bills on the Human Rights Agenda.

On January 5, 2022 at the rally I mentioned earlier in this report, DiPietro was one of the very few lawmakers to come outside with us and talk to the thousands of New Yorkers who rallied that day. I had the honor of telling the crowd that DiPietro wanted to bring back the religious exemption and that he was a true hero of our movement.

OK John, now tell me the bad news!

Overall John Gilmore had a lot of good news to report to me. But this is the corrupt cesspool of Albany, NY - no way it was all be good news.

“The vibe as you walk through the hallways is much different than it was in 2019,” said Gilmore. “When you walked the halls here six years ago, every office had its door open with staffers inside working. Now the majority of doors are closed.”

This is a new culture in Albany that is lingering post-COVID. Some lawmakers often ignore emails and phone calls from their constituents now, too. Many politicians feel very little obligation to engage with their constituents in a meaningful way unless they agree with them 100%.

Finally, John saw one sign on a lawmaker’s door that said due to the “prevalence of COVID” walk-in appointments were not permitted. All appointments needed to be scheduled in advance.

In May of 2025?!?

The good news is that John only saw one sign like this. Just a year or two ago there were dozens of them, including signs saying masks were required to enter an office.