MICHAEL WILLIAMS
Special to The Leader
As most Americans know, the battle for civil and political rights of minorities in America is a long-debated topic.
In the New York State Legislature, Albany has successfully passed the New York State Equal Rights Amendment with supermajorities two years in a row. The passage of this legislature means the Amendment will be on the ballot in 2024, giving New Yorkers the chance to enshrine equal rights, or equal opportunities for all.
This will make New York the 39th state to amend the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution, and put New York State on par with Canada, most of Western Europe and countries like Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
I sat down with League of Women Voters volunteers and Fredonia professors Jeanette McVicker and Kara Christina to discuss the Amendment. The League of Women Voters of Chautauqua County recently set up a table outside of McEwen Hall on Feb. 14 to register students to vote and to provide information about the amendment. The amendment will be voted on by New Yorker’s in November 2024.
The volunteers made the case that we need the Amendment to give equal rights for all.
“There are certain groups that are not [currently] protected, like people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, women and undocumented immigrants,” McVicker said. “It’s really important to pass [Amendments such as the ERA] to protect gender identity and sexual orientation rights.”
McVicker and Christina could not stress enough the importance for people who identify as transgender to have the same medical rights as cisgender individuals.
New York has most, if not all, of these protections already enshrined into law. When asked about the necessity of the Equal Rights Amendment in particular, McVicker said, “We have piecemeal legislation to protect those rights, but we don’t have a comprehensive piece of legislation that protects all groups.”
The volunteers and professors also expressed that the Equal Rights Amendment has a better chance of standing up against a potential national contraceptive ban if the Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut is overturned. They also laid out concerns about the makeup of our county’s politics. As McVicker said, “To think we’re in a blue state and we’re safe is a false notion, especially in a red part of the state like Western New York.”
They stated that the Amendment is “not just for women,” and that “immigration status or disability status … should [also] be protected,” McVicker said. “There’s an indirect economic protection for people in those protected categories.”
While New York State has some of the highest minimum wages and union rates in America, it also has some of the highest poverty and homelessness rates. It’s not just New York City and other big cities like Syracuse or Buffalo driving up this number. For example, Chautauqua County has a 17% poverty rate, higher than the state average.
The Equal Rights Amendment will be on the ballot in November for the 2024 election, which will be a big year for elections with people voting for President and Senate. If the Amendment passes, it will put New York on par with the rest of America and the developed world when it comes to protecting the rights of underprivileged communities in New York.
I contacted State Senator George Borello, and State Assembly member Andy Goddell for comment, who both voted against the Amendment. I received no response from either.