The rally is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court‘s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, saying there is not a federal constitutional right to an abortion.

The rally is in support of the right to abortion and to support the stance that abortion is healthcare.

At noon, a march is scheduled to take place from Dow Park on West Sixth Street to Tracy Plaza on East Third Street.

Speakers at Tracy Plaza will include motivational speaker Katie Castro, local poet Autumn Echo, local dance artist Sukanya Burman, and local female political candidates and professionals Sandra Lewis and Alyssa Porter.

The rally will conclude with a march that returns to Dow Park.

Governor Kathy Hochul discusses legislation passed in Legislative extraordinary session

The State Legislature has passed a resolution to enshrine equal rights into the New York State Constitution, which will solidify the right to abortion access in New York State.

The resolution was brought forward by Governor Kathy Hochul as part of an extraordinary session of the legislature that she called to deal with decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with gun laws and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

If enacted, the amendment will add ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy to existing protections that currently cover discrimination based on race, color, religion or creed.

State Senator George Borrello was critical of the resolution, saying abortion rights are already codified in state law under the Reproductive Health Act passed in 2019, and that “This will potentially force Catholic hospitals and other religiously affiliated organizations to provide abortions and other services that violate their beliefs.”

The resolution will need to pass again in the next legislative session before going to the voters for ultimate approval.

Governor Kathy Hochul

State legislation is being developed that will ban guns in government buildings, health facilities, places where children gather and public transportation in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision making it easier to legally carry firearms in public.

The Gothamist reports Governor Kathy Hochul said that she and legislative leaders have agreed to a series of gun-control measures that are expected to be voted on today, when state lawmakers return to the Capitol for an extraordinary session.

She said the details and language are still being worked out. Hochul developed the policy following a meeting of the Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns with highlights including:
– A ban on guns in “sensitive places,” which also include polling places and educational institutions
– Preventing guns from being carried in private businesses unless the business owner explicitly allows them
– Expanding the list of criteria that disqualifies someone from obtaining a pistol permit, including if they have a “history of dangerous behavior”
– Expanding the state’s “safe storage” law to require guns are locked while in a car, or in a home with someone under the age of 18 (up from the current 16)
– And requiring a background check to purchase ammunition for a gun that requires a permit

The push for new gun-control legislation comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling last week in favor of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, which sued the state over its law requiring an applicant to show “proper cause” – essentially, a particular need to carry a gun for self-defense – in order to get a permit to carry a concealed firearm in public.

In the 6-3 ruling, the court found the century-old state law violated the U.S. Constitution, striking down the provision and making it easier to obtain a concealed carry permit.

But Justice Clarence Thomas’ ruling and a concurring opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh made clear that the state can still ban guns in “sensitive places,” such as government buildings.

Hochul said she and state lawmakers are in agreement on an expansive list of sensitive places. She also said they agree that guns should be presumptively banned from private businesses, unless the business owner proactively opts in to allowing them.

The presumption will be that they don’t want concealed carry unless they put out a sign saying, ‘Concealed carry weapons welcomed here,’” she said.

When asked if the state’s list of sensitive places would include places that serve alcohol, Hochul said they would be covered under the presumptive gun ban for private businesses.

Whatever lawmakers pass will be subject to strict legal scrutiny from gun groups – including the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association – that have been willing to sue in the past.

Governor Hochul is also hoping state lawmakers can pass the Equality Amendment during the special legislative session.

Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Hochul is urging agreement on the proposed, but stalled amendment to the state constitution that would put equality protections in place for New Yorkers.

The amendment has been stuck in neutral due to disagreements among Democratic lawmakers over religious protection language in the amendment. New York has protections in place for abortion rights and earlier this month legislation was approved meant to strengthen legal protections for women from outside New York seeking abortions as well as providers of the procedure.

Unlike legislation, a proposed constitutional amendment is not signed by the governor after passage in the Legislature. An amendment must be approved by two separately elected sessions of the Legislature and then put before voters in a referendum.

Hochul encouraged lawmakers to discuss the issue with her in an effort to broker an agreement.

Governor Kathy Hochul signs abortion rights package (June 13, 2022)

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a package of bills Monday to protect abortion rights in the state.

This comes after a leak of a Supreme Court draft decision in May that suggests the court will overturn Roe v. Wade, taking away the right to abortion across the nation.

Abortion rights are already codified into New York state law, but legislation signed by Hochul will also protect abortion providers as well as women from other states.

Hochul addressed the leaked Supreme Court decision, saying she is acting as if the decision is final, “My friends, the sky is on the verge of falling literally in the next week or two. That is a very real possibility. And that’s why we’re here today. I have three messages regarding the persistent assault on women’s rights, and a woman’s right to determine and make her own decisions about her own body. And they are simple messages: Not here. Not now. Not ever.”

The first bill allows New Yorkers to file lawsuits against people who are trying to limit their reproductive freedoms.

The second allows the state to protect women from other states who are wanted on criminal charges from extradition.

The third and fourth bills will allow the state to defend abortion providers from medical malpractice and licensure issues.

The fifth will allow providers and their family members to keep their addresses confidential to keep them safe.

The sixth bill signed by the governor allocates a task force to study the impact of limited-service pregnancy centers on women.

The governor recently announced that the state will be providing $35 million to support abortion access, calling it a “nation-leading investment.”

This makes New York the first state to approve legislation following shootings in Buffalo and Texas that left a total of 31 dead.

Lawmakers approved bills to broaden abortion protections and bolster voting rights, using the final hours of the 2022 legislative session to deliver the most robust response yet by a state in the face of federal gridlock.

Faced with a looming Supreme Court decision that could strike down Roe v. Wade, Democratic legislative leaders were fully behind a bill package aimed at protecting abortion service providers from legal or professional backlash, among other things.

Legislators also approved new measures to combat voter suppression under the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, invoking the former congressman and civil rights leader in a nod to the voting rights bill that failed to pass in Congress.

Governor Kathy Hochul, who has already expressed support for many of the bills, is widely expected to sign them into law.

New York will now become the second state, following California, to pass legislation paving the way for the “microstamping” of shell cases with a unique alphanumeric code in order to trace the bullet back to the gun it was fired from. The bill, spearheaded by State Senator Brad Hoylman of Manhattan, is meant to help officials solve crimes, but some Republicans questioned the viability of the technology and argued it amounted to an unnecessary barrier for gun manufacturers.

The legislation that now makes the sale of body vests unlawful — except to police officers and other designated people — came after it was revealed that the 18-year-old gunman who killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket had worn body armor, an increasingly common feature in mass shootings that is typically loosely regulated.

New York — which already bans military-style assault rifles — will also join a handful of states that have raised the minimum age requirement to 21 from 18 for the purchase of some long guns, the same age as for handguns in New York. New buyers of such weapons will now be required to obtain a permit — which includes undergoing a background check and safety course — before the purchase of a semiautomatic rifle.

Hochul vocally lobbied for the legislation, but it could face legal challenges from the gun industry just as the Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling this month that could strike down a New York law that sharply limits a person’s ability to carry a weapon outside the home, a potential win for gun-rights groups.

The bills, which cemented New York’s standing as one of the most Democratic statehouses in the country, came as President Biden delivered remarks on Thursday night urging Congress to pass a federal ban on assault weapons and new “red flag” laws.

But some lawmakers privately griped that the focus on national headline-grabbing issues had overshadowed conversation around more New York-centric concerns in the waning days of the legislative session.

Many in the party’s left wing were disappointed that some left-leaning legislation was not prioritized, from beefed-up protections against evictions to elder parole. Environmentally conscious legislation like the one that would allow the New York Power Authority to build publicly-owned renewable energy projects, passed in the Senate but remained unsettled in the Assembly.

Even so, lawmakers appeared poised to pass a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining at fossil fuel plants. The proposal was passed by the Assembly, but stalled in the Senate, until late-night discussions on Thursday revived the measure. The bill, which is heavily opposed by the cryptocurrency industry, is the first of its kind in the country, aimed at addressing environmental concerns over the most energy intensive forms of crypto mining.

Less certain was the fate of a criminal justice reform bill that would seal most criminal records after formerly incarcerated individuals have completed their sentences. The bill — known as the Clean Slate Act — passed the Senate, but has been held up in the Assembly. The measure received an unexpected boost Thursday night, however, with the news that the New York State Education Department had come on board, stoking rumors of a last minute push.

There was a far broader consensus on abortion rights, as New York State leaders vowed to make the state a national leader on the issue following news reports that indicated the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the landmark decision from 1973 that made abortion legal across the country.

Lawmakers followed through on that pledge this week with bills aimed at strengthening New York’s existing laws and preparing the state for a surge of people seeking abortions from elsewhere.

One bill passed by both houses will sharply limit the ability of law enforcement from cooperating with criminal or civil cases in states where abortion is restricted. Others ensure doctors have access to malpractice insurance, and aren’t hit with professional misconduct charges for serving patients from states where abortion is a crime.

Still others aim to use the conversation around abortion rights to solidify other liberties under attack. One measure which has been passed by both houses protects the rights of individuals traveling to New York seeking reproductive care as well as transgender or nonbinary people seeking gender-affirming care.

An amendment to the State Constitution that would forbid discrimination based on pregnancy outcomes — or race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender expression — was being hashed out well into the final week of the session, with lawmakers struggling to balance civil liberties with religious ones. As of Thursday, a compromise failed to emerge.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which passed both the Senate and the Assembly, invokes a similarly named bill in Congress that would restore parts of the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 recently gutted by the Supreme Court. That bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021, but has twice failed in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority.

The bill requires localities with demonstrated histories of discrimination to prove that any proposed changes to their election process will not result in voter suppression.It would also require more election materials to be translated for non-English speakers and offer voters legal protections in instances of obstruction or intimidation.

Legislative reporters said the State Senate finished voting around 2:30 this morning with the State Assembly expected to reconvene at 9:30 this morning to finish voting on measures.

Hochul was joined by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to lay out their combined efforts to fight for reproductive rights. As part of these efforts, the Governor is directing State agencies to coordinate a statewide public information campaign, including the development of a patient bill of rights, in coordination with stakeholders. This campaign aims to educate women on their rights and legal protections and ensure the information is accessible and widely available.

The Governor also directed the Department of Health to take immediate action to develop and widely distribute modern and comprehensive provider guidance on the right to provide abortion care and to ensure updates to existing regulations are adopted so that medication abortion can be more easily accessed during telehealth visits.