Setting the Record Straight on the New York ERA
The nature of the demagoguery that some politicians have used against the New York State Equal Rights Amendment, Proposition 1 on the back page of our ballots, reminds me of an experience I had as a young public defender in the rough and tumble New York City Criminal Courts.
During a proceeding, the prosecutor told a blatant lie. I banged my fist on the desk and shouted out that the statement was a lie.
The judge immediately called me up to the bench for a conference. Smiling, he told me that, yes, although he knew that the statement was a lie, I shouldn’t say that the lie was actually a lie. He told me that I should instead say that the false statement was simply “disingenuous.” After all, being accused of being disingenuous was much nicer than being accused of being a liar.
That memory is in my mind all these years later as some politicians are intentionally spreading blatant lies about the New York Equal Rights Amendment.
Not long ago, I used this space to discuss the New York Equal Rights Amendment which will be on the back of our ballots when early voting begins on October 26 and on Election Day, November 5. I am talking about it again in response to a disinformation campaign which is based on ridiculous and preposterous lies.
If you listen to far-right politicians, the ERA will permit abortions even after a woman gives birth. It will allow non-citizens to vote and ban parents from knowing if their little children are receiving gender changing surgeries.
These claims don’t even come close to passing the laugh or the smell tests.
Among the various falsehoods about the NY ERA is that it will take away parents’ rights over their children by allowing minors to consent to gender-affirming surgery; enable boys to play on girls’ sports teams; and control who uses what bathroom. These claims are false and not credible. This is part of a narrative being pushed by politicians who are trying to divide and distract us from what this amendment is actually about – protecting the right to abortion and guaranteeing our personal freedoms.
Charges that it will change our immigration process and allow non-citizens to vote are also lies. The protections in this amendment have nothing to do with our country’s asylum or immigration laws. They are simply about strengthening our state constitution to make sure that all New Yorkers are protected against discrimination from the government, no matter their race or ethnicity.
There have been questions about whether we really need to pass this amendment in New York, where abortion, at least for the time being, remains legal. While many of us took for granted that our reproductive freedom would always be protected, the overturning of Roe v. Wade shocked us back into the reality that our rights aren’t nearly as safe as we thought. Never before in all of American history has a Supreme Court completely gutted a fundamental constitutional right. Since then, reproductive rights like abortion, contraception, and IVF have been under attack across the country. New York’s current laws can and will be changed or rolled back depending on who is in the state legislature or the governor’s mansion. The bottom line is that we do need the ERA to ensure all New Yorkers have their basic, fundamental rights and freedoms protected.
The amendment is straightforward, guaranteeing that no New Yorker can be discriminated against by the government. It does not hand out special rights to anyone and doesn’t change common sense laws on the books. The amendment is about protecting the rights we currently have and not leaving them up to out-of-touch politicians in the future.
Prop 1 will permanently protect New Yorkers’ fundamental freedoms, including the right to abortion — and voters deserve to know the truth. Now, it’s our job to make sure all voters know that Prop 1 will protect abortion and our fundamental freedoms when we head to the ballot box.
We have a monumental opportunity to modernize our own state constitution by voting yes on Prop 1 and passing the NY ERA.
The choice is clear. The NY ERA will protect our human rights at a time when they desperately need to be protected.
Assemblymember Charles Lavine represents New York’s 13th Assembly District in Nassau County. He presently serves as Chair of the Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Committees on Codes, Ethics and Guidance, Insurance and Rules. Lavine previously served as Chair of the Election Law Committee, Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Guidance, co-Chair of the New York State Legislative Ethics Commission, and as Chair of the bipartisan Taskforce that produced the Assembly Speaker’s Policy on Sexual Harassment, Retaliation and Discrimination. Lavine is also President of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Jewish Legislators and a member of its National Board of Directors.
