In last week’s midterm election, Vermonters overwhelmingly voted to approve a constitutional amendment that adds language prohibiting the denial of rights to a person based on their race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or national origin — with about 80 percent of voters supporting the measure.
Reports VT Digger:
Vermonters decisively approved two amendments [Propsals 3 and 4] to the state constitution Tuesday. The public referendums were the final steps in ratifying the new items, which fortify collective bargaining rights [Prop 3] and guarantee equal protection under the law regardless of a number of characteristics [Prop 4].
The complex, yearslong amendment process requires legislative support in two consecutive bienniums. Voters last ratified constitutional changes in 2022, approving an explicit ban on slavery and landmark language affirming “an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy.” …
Proposal 4, or Prop 4, is designed to guarantee people equal protection under the law, regardless of “race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.” A majority of states have a similarly aimed provision in their constitutions.
This amendment proposal too enjoyed robust support among lawmakers, passing 128 to 14 in the House and without opposition in the Senate.
Supporters have said the measure will build on the protections afforded by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, with part of the new item’s stated purpose being to shield the rights of historically marginalized communities in Vermont. The new language would likely strengthen the state’s legal foundations for some anti-discrimination lawsuits, according to constitutional experts.