Grahamsville

Member, Sullivan County 

Democratic Committee

Chair, Town of Neversink

 Democratic Committee

To the editor:

 I read with dismay the full-page ad placed by the Sullivan County Republican Committee in the Sullivan County Democrat’s Firemen’s Parade Supplement.

 The text of the Equal Rights Amendment, as stated below, says absolutely nothing about children, children’s rights or girls’ and women’s sports as suggested in the ad.

 Once again, the Republican Party is engaging in lies and fearmongering in order to deny basic civil rights that everyone deserves.

 Read the text of the Amendment below and decide for yourself.

A. 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, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed [or], religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in [his or her] their 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, pursuant to law.

B. Nothing in this section shall invalidate or prevent the adoption of any law, regulation, program, or practice that is designed to prevent or dismantle discrimination on the basis of a characteristic listed in this section, nor shall any characteristic listed in this section be interpreted to interfere with, limit, or deny the civil rights of any person based upon any other characteristic identified in this section. 

Isn’t it time for New York to protect everyone’s civil rights? It is, after all, 2024...