NY ERA Amendment

Over the last week, I have noticed a series of social media comments and posts in the Clarkstown Uncensored Facebook group full of all kinds of misinformation about the NY Equal Rights Amendment, which will be on the ballot in our state this upcoming November. 

These comments and posts incorrectly claim that the ERA would somehow result in parents being left out of conversations about their children’s gender and sexual orientation in school and erroneously alleged that the ERA would allow babies to be murdered.

The ERA is a proposed amendment to the New York Constitution that protects against unequal treatment on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes, as well as reproductive healthcare and autonomy. The amendment is aimed at protecting rights that are currently being threatened. 

Over the last few months, we have witnessed attacks on women’s autonomy over their own bodies and on the rights of the lgbtq+ community. These attacks have not taken place across the nation, but also right here in New York. 

As Jews, we believe in the right of women to make their own decisions about their bodies and in the necessity of protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. We find ourselves fighting for this amendment because we believe that every human being was made b’tzelem Elohim and thus worthy of being treated with sanctity.

In partnership with the Women of Reform Judaism and the RAC-NY, Temple Beth Sholom will be holding a post-card drive in support of the ERA on October 16th. Alongside our Yad B’Yad parents and our social justice committee, we will be working to help this important amendment pass by alerting the community of its importance.

To learn more about the amendment and the ways in which the Reform movement is advocating for it, please visit www.RACNY.org.

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