Raging Cuomo Rejects Trump’s Transgender Healthcare Changes
The Trump administration is taking aim at yet another ill-advised Obama-era executive action. Predictably, Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t happy about it. The Affordable Care Act (President Barack Obama’s signature health care law) banned sex discrimination in certain health care activities. Significantly, a federal rule “interpreted” this sex discrimination ban to include a ban on—you guessed…
Court Rules Favorably In Private School Case
Christian schools and other nonpublic schools recently won an important case in a state trial court in Albany. On April 17, 2019, State Supreme Court Justice Christina Ryba found that so-called “guidelines” issued by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) in November 2018 regarding the monitoring of nonpublic schools violated state law. On that…
NYCF’s May Prayer Needs
During the month of May, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms humbly asks that our friends and supporters throughout the Empire State remember the following prayer requests: That the 2019 legislative session would come to an end without the passage of any more destructive and ungodly laws; Specifically, that bills to legalize recreational marijuana, paid surrogacy,…
Assembly GOP Advocacy Aids Gold Star Families
Earlier this month, the New York State Assembly Higher Education Committee voted 15-11 to kill the Gold Star Family Bill. The Gold Star Family Bill (Bill S.193-Ortt/A.2991-Hawley) would expand an existing law that provides free college tuition at SUNY and CUNY schools to surviving spouses, children, and dependents of New Yorkers who have died, become…
‘Mayor Pete’ Criticizes Vice President Pence’s Christian Faith
Recently, a longshot Democratic presidential candidate criticized Vice President Mike Pence for his Christian beliefs and contradicted Biblical doctrine at the same time. Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is an Episcopalian who is “married” to a male partner. At a recent LGBT event, Buttigieg said: “I can tell you that if…
Manhattan Parents Object To Sex Ed Without Parental Consent
A recent article in the New York Daily News raises questions about parental involvement in public school education. According to the article, a teacher at Public School 184 in Manhattan showed a video about abortion to her fifth-grade dance class without prior parental notice. The video appears to have been created with a pro-life purpose…
In Vitro Fertilization Mandate Raises Pro-Life Concerns
While the 2019-2020 New York State budget largely steered clear of damaging social-issue legislation, one anti-life measure found its way into the final budget. Under recently-approved budget legislation, the State of New York will now require large group insurance plans provide coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF). The IVF mandate contains no age restrictions and…
Recreational Pot Gets Caught In The Legislative Weeds
For the past several months, New Yorkers have been inundated with relentless media messaging about recreational marijuana. The message has been simple: Recreational marijuana legalization in New York is inevitable. Regardless of the issue in question, the language of inevitability is used in politics to discourage and demoralize opposing voices. Further, it is used to…
House Democrats Trash Trump’s G.I. Gender Policy
On March 28, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution disapproving of President Donald Trump’s soon-to-be-implemented policy regarding “transgender” servicemembers. Scheduled to go into effect on April 12, the new policy does not ban persons identifying as “transgender” from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Rather, it requires a servicemember who joins…
Schenectady Casino Seeks Slot Machine Relief
The 2019-2020 New York State budget calls for $175.5 billion in spending. During budget season in Albany, powerful special interests send lobbyists to Albany in an effort to obtain a chunk of that funding. One such special interest group is the gambling industry. Last week, the Times Union reported that a representative of Rivers Casino…
NYCF Welcomes Nearly 1,200 To Legislative Day 2019
On March 19, 2019, nearly 1,200 Christians from across New York gathered at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany for New Yorker for Constitutional Freedoms’ 2019 Legislative Day. The theme for this year’s event was “A New Season.” Walt Heyer of SexChangeRegret.comshared his uplifting testimony of freedom from gender dysphoria and explained the causes…
Voters: New York Democrats Are Going Too Far
New York government has been under unified Democratic Party control since January 2019. During that time period, state government has granted “transgender” persons access to opposite-sex facilities by passing the Bathroom Bill, denied youths with unwanted same-sex attraction access to professional counseling, mandated insurance coverage for abortion-causing drugs, passed a series of gun control measures,…
Cuomo Rejects Accelerated Schedule For City Casinos
In Albany, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislators are looking for ways to close a gap in next year’s budget. Well-funded gambling interests are arguing that more gambling will solve the state’s revenue problems. Under current law, there is a moratorium on new casino development in New York City until 2023. However, multiple gambling companies…
Trump Administration Sets Standards For Transgender Military Service
The Trump administration is making progress in its effort to undo the damage done to the U.S. Armed Forces by President Barack Obama’s left-wing social experimentation. On March 13, 2019, the Pentagon released a new directive relating to military servicemembers with gender dysphoria. The directive does two things. First, it states that persons who join…
Assembly Judiciary Approves Military Marriage Bill
Given the onslaught of truly atrocious legislation that is being inflicted upon the State of New York this year, it is encouraging to see a good piece of legislation moving in Albany. Bill S.3756-Mayer/A.55-Buchwald would waive the state’s portion of the marriage license fee for members of the United States Armed Forces that are on…
Contractual Surrogacy Clears First Committee
Albany Update recently reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has publicly stated his support for paid surrogacy legislation, and has included such legislation in his budget proposal. Since that time, Asm. Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale) has amended her proposed paid surrogacy bill, which is known as the Child-Parent Security Act (CPSA) (Bill A.1071-A-Paulin). Furthermore, on February 27,…