As Election Day approaches, people are focused on the main event, the Presidential and Senate races, but New York State has a civil rights issue on the ballot that needs attention.
Proposition 1 seeks to amend the New York Constitution by adding additional classifications to the Equal Rights protections already in the Constitution.[i]
Currently the New York Constitution, Article 1, Section 11, reads as follows:
§11. 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, creed or religion, be subjected to any discrimination in his or her 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. (New. Adopted by Constitutional Convention of 1938 and approved by vote of the people November 8, 1938; amended by vote of the people November 6, 2001.)[ii]
The NY Constitution references four classes of people who are protected under the law. Discrimination is prohibited against anyone based on their race, color, creed, and religion. That’s a great start but it still leaves many vulnerable classes unprotected. The amendment proposed on the November ballot seeks to add additional classes; ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.
My personal feeling on discrimination is that a person should be free from discrimination based on things that are inherent to their identity and personhood. Race, color, and creed are obvious and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution specifically guarantees freedom of religion.
Unfortunately certain groups find this amendment a threat. They are fear mongering, calling this an abortion amendment and a transgender amendment.[iii] Some Republicans are framing it as an attack on family values. They are saying that the amendment would allow men into women’s bathrooms and allow children to be “mutilated” with transgender surgery. This is nonsense of course. In fact, many of these protections are already in New York’s Human Rights Law.[iv] The Constitutional Amendment would make it more difficult to remove those protections in the future.
The new classes, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex are all obviously inherent to a person and should be protected classes. The other groups, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive healthcare and autonomy are also inherent to a person and should also be protected.
As I’ve discussed in previous posts, the right has decided to pervert the concept of “family values” to their own values and use scare tactics to gain power. They harp on with nonsense that doesn’t actually happen, like saying that men are infiltrating women’s bathrooms under the guise of being transgender. Like saying boys will destroy girls’ sports, and other outrageous claims about abortions. Former President Trump has claimed that abortions are happening AFTER a baby has been born.[v] They will say anything they can to gain power.
It is all nonsense, like the claims about this amendment. Civil Rights laws protect everyone from discrimination. I think it is proper to protect people from discrimination by bigots and bullies. I think that one of the duties of the majority in a society is to protect the vulnerable classes of that society from abuse and discrimination. There is no place in an advanced society for treating people who are different from you poorly.
The Supreme Court has recognized gender identity and sexual orientation as included in the category "sex" in Bostock v Clayton County.[vi] The Americans with Disability Act already protects those with disabilities, New York City also has Human Rights Laws that already protect many of these proposed classes. This amendment will help solidify the protection of vulnerable communities in our State.
New Yorkers have an opportunity to help protect the civil rights of their fellow New Yorkers with this amendment. I can’t speak for the Civil Rights Committee or the New York State Bar Association, but personally, I urge everyone eligible to get out and VOTE and I will be supporting Proposition 1.