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    • What is Proposition 1 in New York? What to know about the proposal on the 2024 ballot
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    What is Proposition 1 in New York? What to know about the proposal on the 2024 ballot

    Harry Posted on

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    There’s a statewide proposal on the back of the ballot this year, and you may have seen signs about it in Rochester-area neighborhoods. What is Proposition 1 in the 2024 elections? So who supports or opposes this?

    What is Recommendation 1?

    The Equal Rights Amendment, or Proposition 1, is a sweeping state constitutional amendment that prohibits discrimination in reproductive health and other categories such as sexual orientation, national origin, and age.

    The ballot proposal would expand protections already provided in the New York constitution, specifically language that says: “No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state, or of any subdivision thereof. No person shall be subjected to discrimination in his civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, on account of his race, color, creed or religion. .”

    Proposition 1 would add these protections to ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and gender, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health and autonomy.

    It should also add that nothing in the amendment would preempt future legislation designed to “prevent or eliminate discrimination” based on any of the protected characteristics, nor would it allow any protected characteristic to “interfere with, limit, or deny” the civil rights of another. person.

    How will Proposition 1 read on the ballot?

    Like the change itself. Supporters tried in vain to add the terms “abortion” and “LGBTQ” to the ballot to make them easier to understand; They argued that it was overly “legal” as written and could confuse voters. A state judge denied that request in late August.

    Proposition 1 will be described on the ballot as an “amendment to protect against unequal treatment.” Voters will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on adding new protections to the constitution. The regulations in question are as follows:

    “This proposal would protect against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy. It would also protect against unequal treatment based on reproductive health and autonomy.”

    How did the proposal come about?

    The state’s effort to update the 1938 equal rights amendment was launched in 2019 by Sen. Sen. D-Manhattan. It started with Liz Krueger. Krueger’s proposal, which added new categories to protect against discrimination such as national origin, sexual orientation and pregnancy, was approved by the Senate that same year but was not taken up by the House.

    The bill follows the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. It remained suspended until June 2022, when Wade reversed his decision. Democratic majorities in the House and Senate have twice passed a slightly modified version of Krueger’s proposal, as required for constitutional amendments, and it now goes before voters in the 2024 general election.

    Who supports or opposes Proposition 1?

    Two groups have come forward regarding the proposal: New Yorkers are in favor of Equal Rights, while the Coalition to Protect Children is in opposition.

    The New Yorkers for Equal Rights coalition includes a number of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP New York and Planned Parenthood. Local supporters include AAUW Greater Rochester Area, First Unitarian Church of Rochester, Greater Rochester NOW, Rochester Metro Area League of Women Voters and NAACP Rochester Branch.

    Another local supporter is Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, whose CEO Michelle Casey said all New Yorkers deserve to control their own lives, futures and health decisions without government interference.

    Casey said the repeal of Roe v Wade shocked people who believed their rights and freedoms would always be protected. Since the repeal, reproductive rights such as abortion, birth control and in vitro fertilization have been under attack across the country, she said.

    While the state has a pro-choice Legislature and governor, which isn’t always the case in New York, Casey said this is an opportunity to secure existing rights in the state constitution.

    “I think there are gaps in our constitution where people are not specifically protected,” Casey said. “It will strengthen our existing rights under the Constitution and help people make decisions privately without government interference.”

    The Coalition to Protect Children describes itself as a diverse community of both secular and faith-based individuals and organizations. The group states on its website that its work on the Equal Rights Amendment contains “an unspoken hostility toward parents and parental rights.”

    The coalition, which calls the amendment the “Parental Replacement Act,” is backed by numerous donors, including anti-abortion activist and vice president of the board of Feminists for Choice New York Carol Crossed.

    Crossed said his concerns include adding age to the list of protected classes because of concerns it would give rights to minors and parental school personnel, and including sex as a protected class that could allow biological males to participate in women’s sports.

    Crossed also said the wording of the proposal was confusing in terms of balancing the rights of different groups protected under the amendment. “It seems like we don’t need to be lawyers to understand what we the people are voting for, what we as citizens are being asked to vote for,” he said.

    The New York City Bar Association issued a statement on Proposition 1 in early October; That statement said in part that the proposal would not affect parental rights governed by other areas of state and federal law.

    PolitiFact found a statement on the website of the Coalition to Protect Children to be “mostly true”: “The ERA could also require schools to allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports.” The PolitiFact finding noted that New York already has protections for high school athletes to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity, including in state education law and through the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, but also acknowledged that a constitutional amendment would strengthen those rights . Existing anti-discrimination protections.

    — This story features reporting by The Journal News reporter Chris McKenna.

    — Steve Howe reports on weather, climate and the Great Lakes for the Democrat and Chronicle. An RIT graduate, he has covered numerous issues in New York and Utah over the years, including public safety, local government, national policy and economic development.

    Harry
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