Billboards opposing New York’s proposed “Equal Rights Amendment” — which critics claim would allow transgender athletes to compete against women in sports — will sprout up across the state ahead of the Nov. 5 ballot.
“Vote No to ERASING Women,” says the first billboard erected outside the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, which features a young woman holding a soccer ball.
“Vote No to Prop 1 Nov 5th.”
The group bankrolling the campaign, the Coalition to Protect Kids, blasted the proposed amendment to New York’s constitution as “ideology over common sense.”
The amendment doesn’t explicitly mention athletic participation but detractors argue that the language is broad enough that it could open the door to allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.
“New Yorkers, by an overwhelming margin, want Girls Sports to remain Girls Sports, so why are some New York leaders pushing a ballot initiative that would likely achieve just the opposite?,” said the Coalition to Protect Kids New York spokesperson, Tamara Marcella.
“Women have come so far in athletics over the past 50 years, and it’s frankly bizarre that these leaders would threaten its continued success. What we are seeing here is ideology over common sense, and the only ones who can stop it are New York voters.”
The proposal asks voters whether they support or oppose adding language to the constitution that people cannot be denied rights based on their “race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
A “YES” vote puts these protections against discrimination in the New York State Constitution.
A “NO” vote leaves these protections out of the constitution.
The amendment will provide “a clear path” for lawsuits filed by transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports teams, Marcella said.
Nassau County recently approved a law barring trans athletes from competing against biological females in its facilities but the ban was immediately challenged in court by state Attorney General Letitia James.
Opponents also claim the broad language of the ERA proposal could open the door to youngsters being able to receive sexual reassignment surgery without the consent of parents.
“It would specifically allow discrimination against girls and women under the guise of anti-discrimination ideology. The measure could further prevent parents from being informed if a child is struggling with their sexuality at school, causing many parents to label the ballot initiative the ‘Parent Replacement Act,’” the Coalition to Protect Kids said.
The coalition includes the New York Catholic Conference, which recently issued a statement against the ballot measure.
“It opens the door for judges to permit minor children to make life-altering decisions about their bodies without any parental approval or notification,” said Dennis Poust, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference.
“Additionally, it would make it impossible to ever pass even the most common-sense restrictions on abortion,” Poust claimed.
The pro-ERA group, New Yorkers for Equal Rights, is expected to spend millions of dollars on the campaign to pass the amendment, with backing from state Democratic leaders including Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Members of the pro-ERA group include 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Planned Parenthood, North Star, New York Immigration Coalition, the Civil Liberties Union, NEW Pride Agenda, National Institute for Reproductive Health Action Fund, NAACP, Make the Road New York and New York State United Teachers.
New Yorkers for Equal Rights had no immediate comment.
The pro-ballot group previously insisted the amendment would not strip parents of their rights.
