“We can remove the mystery of whether or not our rights can be changed. We can keep the power over our bodies and our future where it belongs, in our own hands, by getting out and voting ‘Yes’ on Prop 1.”

It is enough that politicians have the power to alter the rights of their constituents. Proposition 1, or “Prop 1,” on the New York ballot this year offers us a solution.

Supported by New Yorkers for Equal Rights, Prop 1 is better known as the New York Equal Rights Amendment. It seeks to expand the New York Equal Rights Amendment by adding “ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex – including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive assistance and autonomy” , as protected classes.

None of these classes are newly protected. Their rights are currently spelled out in state legislation and regulations. The problem is that they can be easily changed depending on who is in office. By enshrining them in the state constitution, we can take power out of the hands of politicians. We can secure our rights in a way that goes beyond an election cycle.