NYCF’s September Prayer Needs
During the month of September, 2019, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms covets the prayers of our friends and supporters in the following areas: That the fall events held by our affiliate organization, New Yorker’s Family Research Foundation, will be well-attended and edifying; That the Lord will continue to bless our efforts to renovate our ministry…
Parental Rights Play Second Fiddle To School’s Transgender Agenda
Earlier this month, a man named Jay Keck published a disturbing article in USA Today concerning his daughter’s struggle with gender dysphoria. The article highlights the role of school personnel in his daughter’s confusion. According to Mr. Keck, his daughter—who is on the autism spectrum—displayed no signs of gender dysphoria in her childhood. As a…
State Waives Military Marriage License Fees
A recently-signed bill will make it a little bit easier for active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces to get married. On August 20, 2019, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Bill S.3756-Mayer/A.55-Buchwald into law as Chapter 177 of the Laws of 2019. The new law waives the state’s portion of the marriage license fee for…
State Accepting Comment Regarding Substantial Equivalency Regulations
Proposed regulations that have been issued by the New York State Education Department threaten the continued existence of Christian schools here in the Empire State. According to Section 3204 of the Education Law, “[i]nstruction given to a minor elsewhere than at a public school shall be at least substantially equivalent” to the instruction that student…
NYC Schools Adopt New Gender Inclusion Guidelines
The effort to institutionalize a warped view of gender that conflicts with both faith and science has, unfortunately, moved forward in New York City schools. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the New York City Department of Education has adopted new “gender inclusion” guidelines for the upcoming school year. Here are the highlights (or lowlights): Outside…
Movement On Maternal Mortality
On August 1, 2019, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that created a maternal mortality review board. According to the Albany Times Union, Bill S.1819-Rivera/A.3276-Joyner implements a recommendation made by a task force that studied maternal deaths in New York. The maternal mortality review board will be responsible for studying each death that occurs during childbirth…
Leftists Plan Leap Year Lurch
Between the Abortion Act, the Bathroom Bill, and the raft of other radical bills that passed in Albany this year, you might think that the political left would be satisfied with its efforts and ease up a bit next year. You would be wrong. Instead, progressives are looking to lurch our state even further left…
Troubling Visitation Measure Awaits Governor’s Action
Last week, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to express concern about a bill that may soon reach his desk. Bill S.4203-A-Savino/A.2199-A-Joyner was passed by each house of the Legislature in June of this year. This bill would give courts the authority to grant biological parents continued contact with their children…
Attorney General James Pushes Pot And Paid Surrogacy Proposals
Recently, the State of Politics blog reported on an interview with New York Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James. According to the blog, Attorney General James “counts her first year in office as a success, racking up legislative victories for bills her office sought that limit the president’s pardon power, tighten regulations for data breaches and…
NYCF Files Friend-Of-The-Court-Brief In Parental Rights Case
At New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, our primary work involves working with elected officials to influence the shaping of public policy. Occasionally, however, we have the opportunity to influence court proceedings as well. Several weeks ago, we requested permission to file an amicus brief (also known as a friend-of-the-court brief) to the Supreme Court of…
NYCF’s July 2019 Prayer And Praise Report
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms asks our brothers and sisters in Christ to remember the following thanksgivings and petitions in their prayers during the month of July. We praise and thank the Lord for preventing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, paid surrogacy, and recreational marijuana in New York in 2019; We ask the Lord to…
Gay-Rights Group Urges Constitutional Amendment
It has been a while since the U.S. Constitution was amended. In fact, it has been 27 years. The Constitution was most recently amended in 1992, when the 27th Amendment (providing that a law changing congressional salaries cannot take effect until after the next election to the House of Representatives has taken place) was ratified.…
Speaker Pelosi’s House Lurches Increasingly Left
Under the leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed several bills that highlight the increasingly radicalized ideology of the American left. On June 13, 2019, the House voted, 225-193, to pass a bill amendment that would “block the Trump administration’s recent ban on using federal funds to…
Paid Surrogacy Doesn’t Deliver In Legislative Session
Recently, Albany Update reported that the New York State Senate passed paid surrogacy legislation. This week, we are grateful to report that the New York State Assembly declined to vote upon this legislation during the 2019 regular legislative session. On June 20, 2019, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie acknowledged that Assembly Democrats lacked the votes to…
Senate Passes Paid Surrogacy
On Monday, June 11, the New York State Senate passed a bill that would legalize paid surrogacy in New York. The legislation, Bill S.2071-B-Hoylman/A.1071-C-Paulin, was passed by a vote of 40-21. Thirty-eight Democratic senators were joined by two Senate Republicans—Sens. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore) and Betty Little (R-Queensbury)—in supporting the bill, while 19 Republicans and…
Senate To Take Up Paid Surrogacy Tuesday
Albany Update has previously reported on the ongoing effort to legalize paid surrogacy in New York. A vote on the paid surrogacy bill is planned in the State Senate on Tuesday, June 11 despite the fact that, as of June 10, the bill has not been acted upon by any Senate Committee. Furthermore, the Senate’s…