Here in New York, we pride ourselves in championing policies that ensure that all people are treated with dignity and respect. That commitment has been strengthened this week by the New York State Assembly passing the Equality Amendment to protect New Yorkers from discrimination (A.1283). This resolution would memorialize in our state Constitution protections against discrimination based on an individual’s ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as well as pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health care decisions.

Current New York State constitutional protections guard against discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or creed and this expansion builds on and reaffirms the State’s commitment to protecting all New Yorkers from unjust and prejudicial treatment on the basis of their identity.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s devastating decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, enshrining reproductive rights in our state constitution is paramount. This measure builds on New York’s record of protecting people’s fundamental right to choose, and would put into our state constitution the right to access contraceptives and abortion. We previously codified the protections afforded under Roe v. Wade into state law, and last year we passed laws to protect health care providers and patients from other states’ attempts to impede access abortion in New York State (Chs. 218, 219, 220, 221 and 222 of 2022).

After passing both houses of the Legislature for a second consecutive year, the Equality Amendment will go before voters as a ballot referendum in 2024. I look forward to voting for the Equality Amendment, and hope all New Yorkers will join me voting in favor when it goes before voters in 2024.