New Yorkers will have the rare opportunity to strengthen LGBTQ and abortion rights within the State Constitution this November.
Proposal 1, also known as the Equal Rights Amendment, will appear on the back of New York state ballots at the polls this year. This proposal will amend Article 1, Section 11 of the New York State Constitution, which currently protects against unequal treatment based on “race, color, creed, and religion.” Proposal 1 will add protections against unequal treatment based on “ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes, as well as reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
Discrimination by “any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state” would be protected, according to the proposal. The measure will also protect the right to reproductive health care, including abortion.
While the State Constitution does provide protections against discrimination based on race and religion, it has no such protections in place based on sexual orientation or gender. New York State has many anti-discrimination laws, including the New York Human Rights Law, the Reproductive Health Act, and, of course, the Marriage Equality Act. None of these, however, are protected within the State Constitution, according to the New York State Bar Association.
“[T]here are dangerous loopholes in our state constitution that leave us vulnerable to the whims of politicians,” the NYCLU said in a statement, urging New Yorkers to vote yes on Proposal 1. “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.”
New Yorkers for Equal Rights, a “coalition of more than 500 civil and reproductive rights organizations advocating for passage of Proposal 1,” explains that current protections in New York State, like abortion, can be rolled back by right-wing politicians in the state government.
“[T]he ERA would ensure the State could not pass a state abortion ban, ban private insurance coverage of abortion, prosecute or criminalize miscarriage, or add medically unnecessary burdens on patients or facilities,” NY Equal Rights shared. “…All New Yorkers deserve to have our fundamental rights and freedoms protected, including our right to abortion. And no New Yorker should be discriminated against because of who they are.”
