WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC) filed an official comment to the New York State Board of Elections regarding the “Equal Rights Amendment,” slated to appear on the ballot this November. The measure demands that all New Yorkers be treated according to their “gender identity” and “gender expression,” cementing a basis for men to self-identify into women’s private spaces and children’s social transition in schools without parental consent.
The NYS Board of Elections prepared language that describes the measure for the ballot that is fair, unbiased and identical to the language in the proposed amendment. The League of Women Voters, ACLU, and others have all come out against the Board’s proposed language and are seeking to compel the Board of Election to change the description language and use wording that does not appear in the amendment. Specifically, they want the Board to change the language and include the words “LGBTQ rights” and “abortion,” words that are NOT included in the amendment itself.
Beth Parlato, senior legal advisor for Independent Women’s Law Center, said, “The anti-woman so-called ‘Equal Rights Amendment’ deprives women of their privacy and safety, and strips away parental rights. The proposed amendment will be disastrous, allowing any person the right to ‘self-identify’ into women-only spaces. The radical left seeks to propagandize the language to woo voters’ support and hide its toxicity — when in reality the measure will dramatically curtail the rights of women. This is a strongarm attempt to coerce the Board of Elections into changing the language that was previously drafted and voted upon. It would be unlawful for the BOE to do so, and they know it.”
“This is an anti-democratic attempt to confuse voters about the plain language of the proposed amendment, and an attempt to disguise its more unpopular impacts, like granting men access to women’s spaces,” said Independent Women’s Law Center Legal Analyst and New York resident Inez Stepman. “The voters of New York should know what they’re voting to do. This attempt to obfuscate should be roundly rejected.”
Independent Women’s Law Center’s comment regarding the “Equal Rights Amendment,” and the New York State Board of Elections’ proposed language, states, in part:
Laws on the books protecting women and girls will be erased as the state shifts its focus on prioritizing the feelings of men over the safety of women. The anti-woman amendment is disastrous for women. Independent Women’s Law Center believes if women and New York voters are told the truth, by clearly and transparently maintaining the identical language of the amendment, they will ultimately reject Proposition 1 in November.
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Independent Women’s Law Center advocates for equal opportunity, individual liberty, and respect for the American constitutional order.