Members of the NYCLU and Planned Parenthood rallied outside Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousin's office in Yonkers Wednesday to demand that lawmakers vote on the Equality Amendment during their special session Thursday.
The amendment, the first change to the constitution since 1938, would protect the right to abortion and a slew of other rights advocates feel are at risk.
Advocates say the amendment has to pass now so voters can have a say in 2024. Otherwise, they say a vote would have to wait until 2026.
"We can see too plainly the consequences if we don't explicitly write our rights into the constitution," says says Shannon Wong, interim director of regions for NYCLU.
The only problem is that this week's special session was called to address the Supreme Court's gun ruling.
Stewart-Cousin's district office manager says the majority leader is concerned and that the Legislature has done a lot to protect people.