Proposal One: The “Equal Rights Amendment”
Written by on October 13, 2024
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On Election Day 2024, New York voters have an important decision to make: Whether to approve the so-called Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), also known as Proposal One. Proposal One would amend the New York State Constitution to add new characteristics to the Constitution’s ban on discrimination.[1] Those characteristics include “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” Proposal One will be located on the back of each voter’s ballot on Election Day.
New York Families invites New York voters to vote NO on Proposal One on November 5.
Proposal One is dangerous on multiple levels. Its passage could open the door to damaging lawsuits and radical court decisions that endanger unborn human life, parental rights, and religious liberty.
Please stand with New York Families as we oppose the passage of Proposal One.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
What does Proposal One say?
Answer: The proposed Equal Rights Amendment would amend Article I, Section 11 of the New York State Constitution to read as follows (the highlighted language would be added to the Constitution and the language in brackets would be removed):
§ 11. 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.
What is the history behind Proposal One?
Answer: Amendments to the New York State Constitution must pass each house of the New York State Legislature in successive legislative sessions and then be approved by the voters.
Proposal One passed the State Senate and the State Assembly on July 1, 2022 and was given second passage by both houses on January 24, 2023. Proposal One was challenged in court on procedural grounds; while a trial court upheld that challenge, its ruling was later reversed on appeal.
Why should I vote against Proposal One?
Answer: There are several good reasons to oppose Proposal One. Here are a few.
Proposal One could lead to court decisions that endanger unborn human life, parental rights, and religious liberty. As Cam Macdonald, Executive Director and General Counsel for the Government Justice Center, explains, Proposal One “does not add any new rights or protect any existing rights in the state Constitution…[and does not] by itself extinguish any existing rights like parental consent.” However, Proposal One could be used as a basis for court challenges to existing laws, as well as lawsuits asking courts to rule on conflicts between various constitutionally-protected characteristics (for example, conflicts between religious liberty and “gender identity,” or between religious liberty and “reproductive autonomy.” Proposal One could lead to disastrous court decisions along the following lines:
Finding Christian schools to have violated the New York State Constitution for disciplining students who practice homosexuality or transgenderism;Finding pro-life pregnancy centers to have violated the State Constitution because they do not offer women information on how and where to obtain abortions;Finding faith-based hospitals to have unconstitutionally discriminated against patients based on reproductive autonomy or gender identity if those hospitals decline to provide abortions or so-called “sex reassignment” procedures;Finding religious schools to have violated the State Constitution if they limit attendance to students from their respective faith traditions;Finding single-sex nonpublic schools to have violated the State Constitution’s ban on sex discrimination;Finding that the State Constitution gives minors a “right” to undergo so-called sex reassignment surgery or other medical procedures, with or without parental approval; and
Finding New York’s limits on third-trimester abortions to be a form of unconstitutional discrimination based on reproductive autonomy.
The very real potential for Proposal One to be used as a stepping stone toward radical and dangerous goals is reason enough to vote against it.
Proposal One is vague and unclear. It does not include definitions for any of the terms that it uses. Proposal One also fails to lay out what level of judicial scrutiny is applicable to the various protected characteristics contained within it. Worse yet, it provides no guidance to courts on how to handle situations where those protected characteristics conflict with each other. Whether this carelessness and sloppiness is accidental or deliberate, it is unacceptable. Proposal One would lead to confusion, and that confusion would likely spawn a barrage of unnecessary lawsuits. New Yorkers deserve better.
Abortion and crossdressing do not deserve constitutional protection. At their best, equal protection clauses in laws and constitutions protect people from being subjected to unjust treatment that is based on characteristics beyond their control (e.g. ethnicity, national origin, and disability) or on their religious beliefs. Such protections are welcome. However, Proposal One would confer constitutional protection upon changeable feelings like “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” and problematic choices like “reproductive healthcare and autonomy” (abortion) and “gender expression” (crossdressing).
Where Can I find Proposal One?
Answer: The full text of Proposal One, as well as the abstract prepared by the New York State Board of Elections, can be found by clicking here.
On Election Day, Proposal One will be located on the back side of each voter’s ballot.
Where should I go for more information on Proposal One?
Answer: For more information on Proposal One, pleas click here or here.
Talking Points:
A vote against Proposal One is a vote to protect unborn life. #NoOnProp1 #ProLife
A vote against Proposal One is a vote to promote parental rights. #NoOnProp1 #ParentalRights
A vote against Proposal One is a vote to preserve religious freedom. #NoOnProp1
A vote against Proposal One is a vote to support faith-based hospitals. #NoOnProp1
A vote against Proposal One is a vote to preserve the integrity of Christian, Jewish and Muslim schools. #NoOnProp1
[1] New York Families has no objection to Proposal One’s protections against discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, and disability.
The post Proposal One: The “Equal Rights Amendment” appeared first on New York Families Foundation.
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