ITHACA, N.Y. — Former U.S. House of Representatives member Carolyn Maloney stopped in Ithaca Tuesday as part of a statewide bus tour to generate support for the federal Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The amendment explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. It has also become a touch point for proponents of abortion and transgender rights in recent years.
Maloney’s tour also comes as Democrats are gearing up for Congressional elections this fall, including in New York’s 19th Congressional District, which includes Tompkins County. Democrat Josh Riley aims to unseat U.S. Representative Marc Molinaro, a Republican who has represented the district since 2023.
At a brief event held outside City Hall Tuesday afternoon with Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo, Maloney spoke about the value of the amendment, which was originally introduced in the 1920s but never secured enough support in Congress, or among state legislatures in the 1970s, for inclusion in the Constitution. The legislation has seen renewed support, particularly among Democrats, since the #MeToo movement and more recently, the repeal of the federal right to abortion.
The event centered on a letter Maloney had written to Molinaro, who is one of “a handful” of Republicans who Maloney said can swing support for a discharge petition that would bring the ERA resolution to the House of Representatives floor for a vote to become part of the Constitution. Some critics, however, have questioned the tangible impact of the legislation.
“I am sure that with our Congressional representative knowing how important this issue is, to rectify a historic inequality,” Cantelmo said as he became the newest signatory on Maloney’s petition.
Maloney, who served in Congress for 30 years and has long championed the ERA, said the urgency of the effort has been magnified by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case in 2022. The decision effectively overturned Roe v. Wade, which had ruled that access to abortion is a fundamental right since the 1950s.
During her comments Tuesday, Maloney questioned Molinaro’s stance on abortion, casting him as voting in line with Republican attempts to change or dismantle abortion access nationwide. In the letter to Molinaro, Maloney argued that the ERA has widespread approval among Americans.
“An overwhelming majority of the public supports the ERA, which has always received bipartisan and multigenerational support,” Maloney said in her letter. “The lack of constitutional equality impacts every aspect of women’s lives, and it is past time we take action to ensure constitutional equality for all.”
Molinaro, for his part, has recently released an ad focused on abortion rights, stating that he supports a woman’s right to “make health decisions between her and her doctor. ”
Molinaro has previously voted to enforce certain levels of care for a fetus if it is born prematurely after an attempted abortion. It was his only vote on reproductive rights during his time in Congress.
The bus tour ended its local stay later at the Tompkins County Public Library, where Maloney met with a group of about 20 people interested in helping propel the effort forward. The group came from all over the county, including Trumansburg and Groton. Attendees pledged to contact state representatives, including Molinaro, to ask them to support the federal measure.