5 Things To Know About New York's Proposition 1

LONG ISLAND, NY — As New Yorkers head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the presidential race, they will also weigh in on a proposed amendment to the state's Constitution to increase protections against unequal treatment.

1. This proposal amends Article 1, Section 11, which now protects against unequal treatment based on race, color, creed, and religion. Approving the proposal would amend the act to also protect 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, according to the state's Board of Elections website.

2. The amendment is worded, "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."

The amendment would allow laws to prevent or undo past discrimination, the website states.

3. If approved, the amendment would be protected by the state constitution, therefore not subject to future law changes by the state Legislature, Newsday reported.

4. Opponents, like the Vote No on Prop 1 Committee argue the proposition is a trojan horse that, if approved, could have "dire consequences." On its website, the committee argues it could grant constitutional rights to non-U.S. citizens and make New York a permanent sanctuary state. It also argues that men would be allowed to access safe spaces for women like bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers, and that adolescent boy athletes would be allowed to compete in girls' sports, creating an unfair advantage.

Groups like The Coalition to Protect Kids also argue parents' rights would be taken away, allowing their children to make decisions that go against deeply held religious convictions.

Other groups, like the GOP, argue children would be able to obtain sex change operations without parental consent.

5. Proponents like Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat who sponsored the amendment in the state Legislature, says it will protect abortion, reproductive freedom, such as access to IVF and other fertility treatments, contraception, and healthcare treatments not yet made available, according to her Op-Ed in amNY. It will also ensure equal rights for all New Yorkers, she says.

The amendment would protect women from being arrested for having a miscarriage or stillbirth, as well as protect against discrimination for choosing not to become pregnant or choosing not to have an abortion, according to Krueger.

Krueger says parental rights in relation to gender-affirming care are already established by state and federal case law. On girls' sports, Krueger says that children can already play on the sports teams that match their gender identity because of both state Human Rights Law and the federal Title IX law.

The amendment would not allow non-citizens to vote or receive benefits they are not already entitled to because those rights are set by the federal government, she says.