A group of local elected officials, social services organizations, and reproductive rights advocacy groups gathered on the steps of Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens on Thursday, Oct. 24, to rally in favor of Proposition 1, which is on the ballot this November.
Speakers and supporters included Sen. John Liu (D-16), Assembly Members Catalina Cruz (D-39) and Jessica González-Rojas (D-34), Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. and Deputy Queens Borough President Ebony Young. Organizers gathered behind the elected officials, waving flags and holding up placards that said “Protect Safe, Legal Abortion” and “ Vote Yes on Prop 1.”
For supporters, voting yes on Proposition 1, known as the Equal Rights Amendment is critical as they believe it would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
The amendment expands on a section of the state constitution that currently protects against unequal treatment based on race, creed, or religion. According to the text, the expansion would extend protection against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes, as well as reproductive healthcare and autonomy. The amendment allows laws to prevent or undo past discrimination.
Many of the speeches given by lawmakers and advocates centered on protecting the reproductive rights of New Yorkers.
“We must vote yes to protect all New Yorkers’ rights to exist however they want to, without being discriminated against for who they are or what they choose to do with their bodies. In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade two years ago, we saw how our rights can be taken away from us,” said Young. “ We are seeing how abortion care is being criminalized in states across the country. While abortion care is legal in New York, we want to make sure it remains legal always.”
Thursday’s rally grew tense at times as counter-protestors closed in on the speakers. Many counter-protesters held signs that read “Say No to Prop 1, Save Girls Sports” and shouted expletive-laden accusations at Richards and other elected officials. One counter-protester, wearing a MAGA hat, repeatedly banged a kettlebell throughout Richards’ remarks, while another, also in a MAGA hat, yelled “MAGA” and called the officials “rats.”
During his remarks, Richards verbally sparred with counter-protestors, saying, “The stakes couldn’t be higher this election season. We see how the right wing-I think a few of them showed up today- is demonizing people for their backgrounds, faith, ethnicity, gender, identity, and sexual orientation, he said. “But we got a message for them: we’re in Queens, we will never let you tell us how to live our lives.”
Richards echoed Young’s views on protecting reproductive rights in a post-Roe v. Wade society. “Prop 1 gives New Yorkers the freedom to control their own lives, futures, and healthcare decisions, including the right to abortion care,” he said, adding that 1 in 3 women are living in states with some level of abortion ban.
Donna Liberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and founder of the NYCLU’s Reproductive Rights Project, stressed to supporters that Prop 1 will protect reproductive rights, including abortion, contraception, and IVF treatments.
Additionally, Liberman explained that women are up against an “extremist” anti-abortion playbook that is affecting them across the country. According to Liberman, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, 25 million women now live in states where abortion is entirely or almost completely banned, which is affecting 57% of all Black women of childbearing age in America.
Liberman explained that the statistics show that abortion rights and equal rights are not guaranteed as the political tides turn. “We need abortion rights in our constitution, we need equal rights in our constitution, New York needs Prop 1. Because we know, political wins can shift, laws can too easily be changed, and we all know New York is a battleground state,” she said.
Although small in numbers, the counter protesters were loud in their opposition to Proposition 1. A handful of individuals spoke to QNS about the reasoning behind their opposition.
Thomas Zmich, a congressional candidate for District 6, said he’s protesting Proposition 1 to keep “men out of women’s sports.” “This amendment will codify that men are allowed to join women’s sports, and that is going to disrupt everything. This takes away all the little girls’ future hopes and dreams of becoming something in sports,” Zmich said. Zmich’s concerns are similar to other opponents of Proposition 1, who believe that the broad language in the proposal would allow transgender children to play on sports teams that do not match their biological sex.
Other opponents, including Elena, a Bayside resident who declined to give her last name, said she believes that children are left vulnerable as the age and gender identity protections in the proposition create a grey area.
“We are the parents; we raise our kids, we know what’s best. I was a guidance counselor in the New York City public school system. I had to leave because what was being taught was so radically against everything that I know to be right,” she said. “ I feel so strongly about how my little elementary school students were getting totally confused by what they were hearing and overwhelmed. Most adults can’t understand these gender topics, and now we are imposing that on babies?” Elena said.
Elena added that she feels the proposal’s elimination of age discrimination would allow children access to gender-affirming hormone therapy without parental consent. “Does that mean if a child wants a gender change, if they don’t want their parents to know that they are transitioning, will a doctor be forced to transition that child medically without their parental consent?”
Proposition 1 will not alter existing laws on parental consent or the involvement of parents in healthcare decision-making for their children, including gender-affirming care, according to the New York City Bar Association.
Additionally, it would not change existing laws regarding participation in sports teams. There is no “explicit provision” relating to participation in sports teams. Proposition 1 is compliant with Title IX, a federal law that has been interpreted by federal courts to require young people to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity and expression.
The NYC DOE already has guidelines in place for transgender and gender-expansive students participating in sports and physical education. Generally, a student must be permitted to participate in physical education, intramural sports, competitive athletic activities, and contact sports in accordance with the student’s gender identity asserted at school.
In 2023, the CDC conducted the first national survey regarding the trans youth population. The survey found that 3.3% of U.S. high school students identified as transgender, and 2.2% identified as questioning. It also highlighted health disparities in trans youth, including a higher level of violence, poor mental health, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, unstable housing, and a lower prevalence of school connectedness compared to their cisgender peers.
