Hi friends,
I was tempted to call this the Dark Night edition because I am — and I expect you are — still reeling from the wreckage wrought by the Trump Court.
But our job is to take action and so we are going to pass the amendment to the NYS constitution to protect abortion rights. We are.
Governor Hochul has called a special session of the legislature to begin this Thursday. YES, on the cusp of a long summer weekend. I have to say that I appreciate her sense of urgency. [NOTE: I am voting for Jumaane Williams tomorrow and Ana Maria Archila for Lieutenant Governor.]
There are two issues that the governor is asking the legislature to take up: new gun legislation to work around what she called
and an amendment to guaranteed abortion rights.
Here’s the language of the amendment under consideration:
Section 1. Resolved That article 1 of the constitution be amended by adding a new section 20 to read as follows:
§ 20. (a) No person shall be denied equal rights under the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof based on that person's race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or sex including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Section 2 of the amendment says that this amendment doesn’t invalidate other constitutional protections related to the aforementioned characteristics and section 3 indicates that it doesn’t prevent additional laws or regulations “to prevent or dismantle discrimination.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) likes it, but
critics, however, have raised concerns that not including religion in those protected classes doesn’t provide the same layer of protections for religious beliefs.
The NYCLU’s reasoning is that religious freedoms are already well-protected elsewhere in the constitution.
Tell your legislators that passage of the Equality Amendment is a top priority for you AND that you want to know what the legislative options are for strengthening concealed-carry laws in our state. Ready-made!
We’re still fighting for the cryptomining moratorium for NYS. The Greenidge Generation plant in Dresden, NY is the inspiration for the moratorium.
The plant’s air and thermal pollution is harming the region’s tourism industry, which draws millions of visitors — and billions of dollars — each year. The bill New York lawmakers just passed would enact a two-year moratorium to block crypto miners from repurposing plants like Greenidge, although existing facilities could keep operating.
Even if you were prepared to sell out the environment in order to create jobs (?!?), it isn’t at all clear that allowing fossil-fueled cryptomining will create a net increase in jobs.
Contact Governor Hochul and let her know that you’re a climate voter and you support the crypto moratorium. This action has been updated!
It’s the final week for public comments on NY’s draft scoping plan for our climate future TODAY! It doesn’t matter if you’ve already submitted—you can submit as many times as you’d like. The more comments we submit, the closer we are to a renewable energy future for all New Yorkers.
These actions are quick and it is, in the words of NY Renews organizers, the
rare case where fossil fuel industry money and power matter less than public input.
We need a viable Climate Action Plan. Hit every comment again. At 15-seconds each, you’ll be done in under 4 minutes.
with love,
L