An Equal Rights Amendment enshrines LGBTQIA rights to the state constitution
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY GETTY VIA CANVA
In some good news for LGBTQIA rights, voters in the state of New York have elected to pass through Proposition One, an equal rights amendment that would enshrine LGBTQIA rights and other civil rights to the state’s constitution.
On 5 November, the back of the US election ballot in the state of New York asked voters to choose whether or not they wanted to pass through an equal rights amendment that would ban discrimination based on characteristics, including sexuality and gender identity. The motion to add the amendment gained enough votes to pass, therefore making equal treatment of the LGBTQIA community a state constitutional right.
The primary aim of the amendment was to protect abortion access statewide and expanded to cover other civil rights. All these rights will now be added to the state constitution, meaning even if the Trump administration removes federal protection for abortion, LGBTQIA rights and other civil rights, they are still protected in the state of New York.
Unfortunately, a state constitution does not override federal law. Due to The Supremacy Clause of the US constitution dictates that all state law, including their constitutions, are subordinate to any that come out of Congress. Therefore, if the Trump administration passes through a law that actively discriminates against the groups covered by Proposition One, it will take precedence. But if it instead removes protections and make it the state’s prerogative to pass discriminatory laws, as they campaigned to in regards to abortion, this will not be possible in New York.
The New York Civil Liberties Union referred to Proposition One as “the most progressive and comprehensive state Equal Rights Amendment in the country”. They continued: “This vote is a rejection of a regressive national movement to roll back our hard-won freedoms that has gained in other states.”
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