NYSBA Calls ERA a Crucial Amendment to the State Constitution
1.24.2023
Sherry Levin Wallach, president of the New York State Bar Association, issued the following statement about the state Legislature’s passage of the ERA:
“The New York State Bar Association commends the state Legislature for deciding today to put the ERA, a crucial amendment to the state Constitution, before voters. The Equal Rights Amendment extends protections to classes of New Yorkers we didn’t recognize when the Equal Protection Clause of the state Constitution was written. It prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity, natural origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, reproductive healthcare and autonomy. If voters approve, the ERA will permanently enshrine these rights in our state Constitution, protecting the state’s residents from the vagaries of politics, changes in the composition of the Legislature or a shift in the makeup of the judiciary.”
