High school students across New York are planning to walk out of their classrooms on Oct. 24 in protest of a ballot measure that would allow transgender athletes to participate in girls' sporting events.
New York's Proposal 1, also known as the "Equal Rights Amendment," would add language to the New York Bill of Rights to provide that people can't be denied rights based on their "ethnicity, national origin, age and disability" as well as due to their "sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive healthcare and autonomy."
Campaigners in favor of Proposal 1 are marketing the ballot measure as a pro-abortion measure that would enshrine abortion rights into state law. However, the Coalition to Protect Kids, the main organization that has organized the statewide walkouts, argue that Proposal 1 would not only protect abortion rights but also mandate extreme "trans rights" in New York, including the participation of transgender athletes in girls sports.
The statewide demonstration, dubbed "Walk Off for Fairness Day," is organized by the Coalition to Protect Kids with support from the Catholic Church, the New York Republican State Committee and the Conservative Party of New York State.
"Girls are being systematically canceled in this state, and 'Walk Off for Fairness Day' will give them a safe opportunity to make their voices heard," said Coalition spokeswoman Ayesha Kreutz. "So many of these young women are afraid of speaking out, so they're forced to watch as 50 years of female athletic progress gets washed away by destructive ideologues. Girls are not second-class citizens, so why are they being treated that way?"
Many high school students across New York have spoken out in support of the walkout.
"It's not right for boys to compete against girls in sports. It's a huge disadvantage for girls," said Hannah Pompeo, a 16-year soccer player at Eden High School near Buffalo.
Similarly, Millie McCormack, a dancer from Somers High School, stated that she and her sister would join the protest because they believe transgender athletes threaten the fairness of girls' sports. "I don’t think it’s right for men to be in our safe spaces. We worked hard for places on our teams. Boys have physical advantages we don't have."
Proposal 1 would undermine Title IX protections for female athletes
The issue and the event have ignited strong reactions from both sides of the political aisle.
Proposal 1 supporters, like Sasha Ahuja of New Yorkers for Equal Rights, accuse the coalition of misrepresenting the amendment to scare voters.
"There's no bigger bully than the Coalition to Protect Kids – lying to students and parents to scare them into turning on each other," said Ahuja. "Prop 1 is about protecting abortion permanently and preventing government discrimination, full stop — and they know it. In their desperation to make this amendment about anything else, the Coalition to Protect Kids is doing anything but."
However, State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox warned that Proposal 1 could undermine Title IX protections for female athletes.
"The Prop 1 ballot amendment would roll back the protections guaranteed to women and girls under Title IX of the Education Amendments signed into law by President Nixon over 50 years ago by giving biological males a constitutional right to compete on girls' teams and taking away the scholarships and playing time these young women have worked so hard for," said state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox.
Meanwhile, Conservative Party Chairman Gerry Kassar argued that girls' sports should remain exclusive to girls. "It's hard to believe we're even having the conversation that girls' sports would be for anyone other than girls. We fully support 'Walk Off for Fairness Day' in New York, reminding young people that there is safety in numbers. Girls Sports must remain Girls Sports, and there should be nothing controversial in that statement," Kassar said.
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