New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand criticized President Donald Trump's policies during Saturday's Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Greater New York Gala.

Gillibrand called for the defeat of Trump in 2020 and a change of Congress to enact federal LGBT protections. First introduced in 2015, the Equality Act seeks to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in seven key areas, including credit, education, employment, federal funding, housing, jury service and public accommodations, by effectively expanding the Civil Rights Act, originally approved in 1964.

“We know this president will never sign the Equality Act to ensure the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans,” Gillibrand said. “He has neither the decency, nor the empathy to do so. But even with him in the Oval Office, we can make progress, because with a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate, we can have the momentum that we need for a new president to sign that bipartisan bill in 2020.”

Cuomo also went after Trump, calling on Congressional Democrats to stop his agenda at any cost.

“We must oppose Washington's drive to reverse our progress,” Cuomo said. “The Democrats in Washington must join forces and they must stop the administration's attempts at reversals by any means possible. We cannot let them impose their will and their vision on this country. And whatever the Democrats have to do – stand up, speak up, lay down, shut down – I don't care, whatever is necessary to do, we must do, because you cannot compromise with hate and prejudice without degrading the nation.”

Cuomo also promised New York would lead the nation on ending the AIDS epidemic and announced plans to introduce legislation this session that would put an end to the so-called gay panic defense.

“It is discriminatory. It is repugnant. There is no Italian panic defense, or male panic defense, or Catholic panic defense, or handsome panic defense. There can be no legal gay panic defense,” Cuomo told a cheering crowd.

Cuomo added that he was signing an executive order that prohibits the state of New York from doing business with any company that discriminates. The Democratic governor said that his order was a response to Trump's policies.

“The Trump administration gave the attorney general a license to discriminate by interpreting 'religious liberty' protections in the federal law. What that means is a business can refuse to serve LGBTQ individuals because it violates their religious beliefs. They did that. So, today I'm signing an executive order prohibiting New York state government from doing any business with any entity that discriminates against any New Yorker, period,” Cuomo said.

Also at Saturday's event, HRC honored out actress Cynthia Nixon with its Visibility Award and Audra McDonald with its National Equality Award. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also addressed the crowd, telling them that Trump is probably the “most dangerous” president the U.S. has ever had.