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WHY VOTE "NO" ON PROP 1 (AKA THE "EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT") BALLOT INITIATIVE?

WHAT IS PROP 1?

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Prop 1, the so-called Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), is a statewide ballot initiative that, if passed, would create sweeping changes and override existing state law.

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If passed, Proposal 1 would amend Section 11 Article 1 of the New York State Constitution as follows (NOTE: text in CAPS below will be added; text in [ ] will be stricken from the current language):

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A. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. 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 by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, PURSUANT TO LAW.

 

B. 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.

child holding father's hand
While the proposed text of the "Equal Rights Amendment" might seem harmless, the implications for children, families, seniors, and taxpayers are anything but.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS IF PROP 1 PASSES?

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The so-called "Equal Rights Amendment" will limit parents’ and educators’ rights:

  • Grants minors the right to medical care (e.g., including vaccines and transgender procedures) without parental notification or consent;

  • Bans schools from disclosing info to parents;

  • Compels schools to include biological males in female sports and locker rooms.

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The "Equal Rights Amendment" bars “discrimination” based on “age” and could override:

  • Statutory rape and sexual abuse protections for children;

  • Laws that penalize crimes against seniors age 65+;

  • Programs offering senior citizen discounts, including senior housing;

  • Age restrictions for the purchase of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana.

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The "Equal Rights Amendment" will have a chilling effect on free speech and the ability to express deeply held religious convictions at odds with transgender ideology:

  • Religious parents in other states have lost custody of their children when they refused hormone therapy for their minor child;

  • States (e.g., Massachusetts and Oregon) have denied people of faith from adopting and fostering children because of their beliefs about gender and sexuality;

  • Parents in other states have lost custody after refusing to affirm a minor child’s “gender identity.”

 

"National origin" in the ERA text could be construed to include illegal immigrants. This could:

  • give non-citizens a constitutional right to vote in state and local elections,

  • create a permanent sanctuary state status in New York, codified in the state constitution,

  • provide constitutional cover for the billions that Gov. Hochul has already spent on benefits for illegal immigrants,

  • open the door for even more spending, and

  • hinder the ability of towns and counties to limit or block shelter housing for those in the country illegally.

The end result will be an even greater burden on already overburdened taxpayers.

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The ERA could provide a constitutional framework to legalize "reverse discrimination." How?

  • The ERA contains language which will legalize “reverse discrimination” programs in the governmental and private sectors if it is intended to remedy past discrimination.

  • This would, for example, legalize the use of racial and ethnic quotas in hiring, education admissions, and more.

Questions Every New Yorker Should Be Asking About Prop 1, the So-Called Equal Rights Amendment

Should boys have a constitutional right to to compete on girls’ sports teams?

WHY VOTE NO ON PROP 1?

The so-called "Equal Rights Amendment" is a Trojan Horse that will result in sweeping changes which come at the expense of children, seniors, and families, and could leave taxpayers on the hook for expanded services for illegal immigrants.

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If passed, the changes will be enshrined in the New York State constitution. We will not be able to legislate away the parts that don’t work. This amendment has been ten (10) years in the making. The policies that will be implemented under a revised Equal Rights Amendment will cause a lot of damage before we have a chance to undo them.

The Monroe County Republican Party is urging all New Yorkers to vote "NO" on this poorly worded constitutional amendment.

 

Here’s why:

  • The amendment is unnecessarily vague and will be subject to a broad range of potential judicial interpretation. Ultimately, the courts will determine the parameters of exactly how the “Equal Rights Amendment” will be implemented because Albany Democrats – 100% of whom not only voted for this bill, they all co-sponsored it as well – included absolutely no parameters or guidelines for how the law should be applied.

  • The vague language of this proposed amendment will create a slippery slope of real-life consequences unintended and unforeseen by most voters.

    • The broad and ambiguous language of the ERA will likely become the subject of litigation by activist groups seeking to create new “rights” inconsistent with the views of most New Yorkers.

    • The ERA could create a constitutional right to irreversible medical transgender treatments and procedures without parental consent. These procedures – including non-surgical treatment options – will permanently sterilize any child receiving such treatment. There is no going back from this. The choice to have children later in life is forever taken away from minors undergoing these treatments.

    • As a new constitutional “right”, the ERA could override any existing statutes requiring parental consent for medical interventions for minors.

    • Schools could be banned from disclosing students becoming transgender to their parents.

    • Most minors who believe they are transgender outgrow it. A child should have a parent guiding them through that process. The ERA could preclude that.

    • Passage of this amendment would also mean that biological males could assert a new constitutional “right” to participate on female sports teams, jeopardizing the fairness of such contests.

    • The ERA will also have a chilling effect on free speech for religious organizations or charitable groups providing medical, educational, or other services, including adoptions and foster care.

  • I keep hearing that Prop 1 is necessary to protect abortion rights in New York. Is that true?
    No. New York State legalized abortion in 1970, well before Roe v Wade was decided. That law is under no threat of modification or repeal. In fact, the 2019 Reproductive Health Act expanded abortion rights in state law. If Democrats really intended to make this constitutional amendment about abortion, they could have written the amendment to specifically address that. In fact, the word “abortion” appears nowhere in the text. In reality, Prop 1 addresses the rights of all persons – including minors, regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and reproductive healthcare.
  • What’s wrong with expanding equal rights in the New York State Constitution?
    As a general rule, absolutely nothing. We’re all for equal rights. That said, the vague language of the proposed changes will create a slippery slope of real-world consequences unintended and unforeseen by most voters. Prop 1 addresses the rights of all persons – including minors – regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and reproductive healthcare. As written, it will affect sweeping changes covering many different segments of the population at the expense of children and families.
  • Could “national origin” be construed to mean illegal immigrants?
    Possibly. We won’t know for sure until issues arise and cases are litigated/decided in court. If Prop 1 passes, we expect that there will be a litany of court cases over the next several years to test the bounds of what this amendment covers. This will clog courts, require millions in taxpayer dollars to fund, and leave New Yorkers in limbo until they are resolved. A black letter law reading of the vague language could easily be construed to cover not just citizens and lawful green card holders, but also those here on, say, student and tourist visas as well as those here illegally. That could mean that the state would be required to provide individuals who came into the country illegally with taxpayer funded support, benefits, and resources.
  • Democrats are arguing that “equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you.” Isn't that true?
    In general, that’s true. And again, we’re all for equal rights. However, that argument simply does not hold water given the one-size-fits-all language in the amendment text. Here are just a couple of examples. The government, not parents, would be inserted into the process of making medical decisions on behalf of minor children, including irreversible transgender procedures. Parents in other states have lost custody of their minor children for failing to affirm “gender identity” or refusing to green light hormone therapy. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the so-called Equal Rights Amendment could have the effect of decimating families. Biological males would have a constitutional right to compete in women’s and girls’ sports, and even a right to access women’s and girls’ locker rooms. Title IX protections that have been in place for decades would disappear the moment Prop 1 passes. And so would the right to the privacy of women’s-only spaces.

RESOURCES

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LEARN MORE. GET INVOLVED. SPREAD THE WORD.

FLIP OVER YOUR BALLOT AND VOTE "NO" ON NOVEMBER 5TH.

The Coalition to Protect Kids-NY is working to educate voters on the unintended consequences of the ERA. Visit www.protectkidsny.com for more information.

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“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Ronald Reagan

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