Exclusive | Prop 1 critics demand NY Gov. Hochul repent for calling them evil, forces of darkness

Catholic leaders and others with the coalition opposing the state’s controversial Proposition 1 abortion measure are demanding that Gov.Kathy Hochul repent for calling them “evil’ and forces of “darkness.”Prop 1 — which is on the November ballot and is being referred to as the “Equal Rights Amendment” by Hochul and other backers — is aimed at enshrining a woman’s right to an abortion in the state constitution.But the proposal also includes protections for people based on their gender identity, “ethnicity” and “national origin.”Opponents claim the vague language opens the door for biological men who identify as transgender to compete against women in sports and would allow youngsters to get sexual reassignment surgery without parental consent.They also claim taxpayers could be on the hook to pay for services for illegal migrants and that the amendment, if approved, paves the way for non-citizens to vote in elections.Hochul has accused opponents of scare-mongering and lying.“They’re trying to scare us and say all these things are going to happen if you pass this,” Hochul said during a rally with Democrats on Saturday in Yonkers.“Don’t let them win.

Do not let darkness win over light.Don’t let bad, evil, win over good,” Hochul said in remarks first reported by Politico NY Playbook.But the opposing Vote No on Prop One Committee blasted Hochul for smearing its members and demanded an apology to New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, other Catholics and faith-based New Yorkers who oppose the measure on religious or other grounds.“As a Democrat and a Catholic, I am totally shocked by Gov.

Hochul’s attack on the Catholic Church, its leadership in New York and the nearly 6,500,000 New Yorkers who identify as Catholic,” said Bobbie Anne Cox, a Westchester County-based constitutional lawyer and statewide rep for the committee.“Not only are her words incendiary and hateful, but also deceptive and wrong,” Cox said.“Prop 1 is a T...