Above: Big name Democrats are coming out for a rally in favor of Prop 1 on Sept 28 in Yonkers, including US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Attorney General Letitia James, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, County Executive and Congressional candidate George Latimer, State Senator Shelley Mayer and Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins.
Below: The Coaliton to Protect Kids is urging a no vote on Prop One
By Dan Murphy
Supporters and opponents of Proposition One, which will be on the ballot November 5, and in early voting, continue to push opposite messages and narratives over the need to pass or reject this measure.
Part A of Prop One would amend Section 11 of Article 1 of the Constitution to add new classes: “No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed or, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in his or her their civil rights.”
Part B adds a new provision: “Nothing in this section shall invalidate or prevent the adoption of any law, regulation, program, or practice that is designed to prevent or dismantle discrimination on the basis of a characteristic listed in this section, nor shall any characteristic listed in this section be interpreted to interfere with, limit, or deny the civil rights of any person based upon any other characteristic identified in this section.”[3]
On Saturday September 28, at the Yonkers Train Station U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and New York State Attorney General Tish James are headlining a rally organized by Democrats in Support of Prop 1 at 4pm. Also attending will be State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, County Executive and Congressional candidate George Latimer, State Senator Shelley Mayer and Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins.
The event is designed to increase awareness about the November ballot initiative and to encourage voters to flip their ballot and vote “Yes” to the proposal, formerly known as the New York Equal Rights Amendment.
Here are two views on Proposition One.
Why New Yorkers Should Vote “Yes” on Proposal 1
By: Nora Brickner Equal Rights Amendment Campaign Director
Across the country, politicians are restricting people’s rights and freedoms, including the right to abortion and the right for all of us to be who we are.
Since Roe v. Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court, twenty-one states have either banned or restricted abortion care. There’s a full-blown assault on trans people’s rights, with hundreds of anti-trans bills introduced — and many passed — in state legislatures across the country just this year.
We might like to think we’re safe from these attacks here in New York, but the truth is there are dangerous loopholes in our state constitution that leave us vulnerable to the whims of politicians. And though we have strong laws protecting us from discrimination, we know that laws aren’t enough, because they can be easily changed, as we’ve seen time and again in recent years as political winds shift.
When we enshrine a right in the state constitution, we protect it from political attacks. In 2022, Lee Zeldin, a staunchly anti-abortion politician, came within six percentage points of becoming our governor. In the State legislature, pro-choice leaders have only controlled both chambers for eight of the past 58 years. In fact, it was only in 2019 that New York finally removed abortion from the homicide code and began to regulate it under health law.
That’s why we need Proposal 1, or what has been previously called the New York Equal Rights Amendment, which will protect our rights and reproductive freedoms — including the right to abortion.
Proposal 1 will keep New Yorkers — not politicians — in charge of our personal decisions and will enshrine equal rights into our state constitution.
Prop 1 will be a critical tool for all New Yorkers to exercise their rights. That’s why powerful, well-funded, anti-abortion forces are working hard to defeat it, even before voters get a chance to pass it. We got good news in June when the New York Appellate Court overruled a baseless attempt by anti-abortion operatives to boot Prop 1 off the ballot.
But our opponents won’t stop trying to roll back our rights. They are dead set on doing everything they can to keep Proposal 1 from passing, and they will be back with more attacks soon.
This isn’t new: anti-abortion extremists are using the same playbook in New York that they are using across the country – using the court system to try to roll back our rights, because they know protecting abortion rights is popular at the ballot box.
Despite these attacks, we’re not backing down. In fact, we’re working even harder alongside New Yorkers for Equal Rights to make sure every New Yorker knows to vote YES for Prop 1 in November.
We are in the early stages of launching our massive voter contact effort. We will be out in communities across the state knocking on doors, phone banking, texting, emailing, and doing everything we possibly can to get Prop 1 across the finish line in November.
But to do all that, we need your help. Please join our campaign to pass Prop 1 and enshrine equal rights into our state constitution. This November, we must make sure all New Yorkers’ rights are protected.
The Coalition to Protect Kids-NY is leading a campaign against Proposition One.
Let’s take a moment and ask ourselves some questions about what it means to be able to “discriminate” based on things like age and gender identity and what some possible legal ramifications might be.
Should the New York State government have more authority than parents in making medical and other important decisions for children? NO.
Should minors have the right to irreversible surgical and non-surgical transgender procedures without parental notice or consent? NO.
Should biological males be allowed to compete in female school sports without restrictions? NO.
Should laws that determine the legal age to purchase and/or consume alcohol or cannabis be weakened? NO
Should statutory rape laws that protect against sex with minors be weakened? NO.
In Westchester, two republican candidates are joining in the call to vote NO on PROP One; State Senate candidate Gina Arena, and Assembly candidate John Isaac.
NY Republican John Faso recently wrote an Op-Ed stating that the ballot measure is “based on a lie”
“Proposal 1 on New York’s ballot this year, dubbed by its proponents as the Equal Rights Amendment, is based on the lie that abortion rights are somehow in jeopardy in New York. The state Legislature adopted New York’s abortion law in 1970, and regardless of one’s position on the topic, there is no genuine threat to these laws. Prop 1 would seriously erode parental rights, undermine girls’ sports and create new rights to taxpayer benefits for noncitizens. The amendment doesn’t even mention the term “abortion.” Instead, the amendment amends Section 11 of the New York Constitution, which currently prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, creed or color, and adds new categories of protections. These include age, disability, ethnicity, national origin and sex.
“A school nurse cannot administer Tylenol to a student without parental consent. Minors can’t receive tanning treatments without a parent’s OK. A new constitutional right to gender identity or gender expression will overcome statutory protections for parental control over medical treatments for their minor children. When courts consider a minor’s demand for transgender treatments like puberty blockers or surgeries, Prop 1 will be used to deny parental authority.
“Similarly, this new right will allow biological males to insist upon their ability to participate on female sports teams. Already, New York government is consciously eroding parental authority. A 2023 guidance from the state Education Department told school districts that they do not need to inform parents of a child’s desire to change genders. Parents of a child in central New York have brought a federal lawsuit alleging that their daughter’s middle school actively conspired for three years to hide the student’s desire to be treated as a boy. And new rights granted based on “national origin” will create a constitutional basis to argue for taxpayer benefits for illegal migrants,” writes Faso.
