National civil rights leaders on Wednesday urged New York lawmakers to support the repeal of an anti-loitering measure they say unfairly targets transgender and gender nonconforming people.

The anti-loitering statute, also known as the “walking while trans” ban, was created to target people who are loitering for the purpose of engaging in sex work. The statute, however, includes very vague terms that essentially allows police to stop anyone walking on a sidewalk.

“We are deeply concerned that New York State continues to enforce NYS Penal Law § 240.37, an archaic anti-loitering law that has led law enforcement to engage in widespread profiling and harassment of the transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) community across the state,” reads the letter shared exclusively with HuffPost. (Scroll down to read the letter in full.)

The letter is co-signed by 34 national and state civil rights organizations, including the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Women’s Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of New York.

Trans and gender nonconforming people, specifically trans women of color, are profiled, harassed and arrested under the anti-loitering statute because police assume they are selling sex due to their gender identity. Gender nonconforming people have been stopped for “wearing a skirt,” “waving at a car” and “standing somewhere other than a bus stop or taxi stand,” the letter states, citing police reports. Many of these run-ins and arrests have occurred while people were simply on their way to visit a friend or go grocery shopping.

“On the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, it is unconscionable that New York State’s Democratically-controlled legislature would continue to sanction the unconstitutional, state-sponsored harassment of TGNC people simply for ‘walking while trans,’” the letter reads.