A proposed referendum on New York’s ballot touted as protecting abortion rights could end up discriminating against Asian American students vying for seats in the city’s merit-based high schools, opponents said Wednesday.
Nearly two dozen Asian American parents and legal activists took issue with Proposition 1 — the “Equal Rights Amendment” — that will go up for a vote on Election Day, during a rally at City Hall.
“We’re going to find ourselves in the courts fighting this,” said Wai Wah Chin, past president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York.
Chin called the language in the Nov. 5 ballot measure “deceptive,” and said it would lead to “reverse racism” against Asian American students who disproportionately earn spots in New York City’s specialized high schools.
Section B of the proposed constitutional amendment states that: “Nothing in this section shall invalidate or prevent the adoption of any law, regulation, program, or practice that is designed to prevent or dismantle discrimination ….”
One legal expert said that this language could open the door for the state to engage in so-called reverse discrimination against Asian or whites who are not considered protected class minorities.
“Under Paragraph B, discrimination becomes a New York State constitutional right provided the discrimination is ‘designed to prevent or dismantle discrimination,’” said Cornell University law professor William Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project.
“This embeds what is commonly referred to as ‘reverse discrimination’ into the New York State Constitution,” Jacobson said at the rally.
“This is the language of Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and would create a DEI exception to the anti-discrimination laws in New York State,” he added.
“Such ideologies have no place in the New York Constitution and are contrary to our tradition of protecting individuals from invidious discrimination based on immutable characteristics.”
Asian parents worry that the language in the ballot measure could lead to watering down the admission criteria for entry into the city’s specialized high schools such as Stuyvesant and Bronx Science — where Asian students are overrepresented based on their overall population in the city public school system while blacks and Hispanics are significantly underrepresented.
Current state law requires a single entry test to get into the specialized high schools, but Chin claimed that if the amendment is approved, educators could scrap the admissions exam.
She noted that critics called the single test admission policy “racist” — but said it’s not.
“Now, we know that that’s not racist. A test is a test. It does not judge a person,” Chin said.
Prop 1 has opened a Pandora’s Box — by throwing in a kitchen sink of supposed protections for residents that conflict with each other, opponents said.
Section A of the measure states that no person should be denied equal protection in New York based on “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.”
As previously reported, the amendment would bar discrimination based on gender identity, which critics argue would allow a biological male who identifies as a transgender athlete to compete against women in sports.
Opponents argue allowing such competition discriminates against women.
It also paves the way for transgender youths to get sexual reassignment surgery without parental consent, critics said.
Noting New York law is among the strongest in the nation when it comes to protecting abortion rights, opponents claim the ballot measure is really a ruse drawn up by Democrats to galvanize their supporters to get to the polls to support their candidates.
“So anyone who tells you that we need this to protect abortion rights, is fear mongering and demagoguing and using this as an obfuscating thing to try to drive out votes,” said state Sen. Minority Leader Robert Ortt (R-Lockport).
“If you do care about women, if you care about protecting women and all they’ve accomplished, particularly when it comes to athletic competition, if you do care about the rights of parents to be involved in raising their children. Then for those two reasons alone, you have to vote no.”
Sen. George Borrello (R-Jamestown) chimed in, “This is not equal rights. This is imposing, as has been stated, racism, discrimination. This is imposing evil things.”
Supporters of the ballot measure slammed what they called “misinformation” surrounding Prop 1.
“The misinformation being spread by the opposition is deceitful and desperate, and is yet another failed attempt to distract New Yorkers. The vast majority of voters support Prop 1, and AAPI New Yorkers – myself included – know that protecting our rights and freedoms, including the right to abortion, is at stake this election,” said Sasha Ahuja, campaign director of New Yorkers for Equal Right.
“While the opposition plans disingenuous stunts, our coalition is doing the real work to educate voters in every corner of the state on what Prop 1 is really about: protecting our fundamental rights and freedoms.”
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