Specifically designed to allow legal, constitutional discrimination against “white, ‘cis’ men.”

by Rob Roper

Next week, Proposition 4, a proposed amendment to our state constitution, will come before the full House of Representatives – the final hurdle in a four-year process before it goes to the voters this November in a popular referendum. What is Proposition 4? It is the so-called “Equality of Rights” amendment. Don’t be fooled. That name is as misleading as the “Affordable Heat Act.”

One might ask why we need this at all given that the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution already guarantees that “No State shall …. deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” There you have it plain and simple. Clear, direct, and to the point. How can you improve on that?

Answer, you can’t. But the objective of Prop 4 isn’t to reaffirm equality under the law as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution; its purpose – contrary to its name — is to undermine it. In fact, Prop 4 should be really be called “The Animal Farm Amendment,” because, if it passes, Vermont will be a place where all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

The text of Prop 4 reads:

That the people are guaranteed equal protection under the law. The State shall not deny equal treatment and respect under the law on account of a person’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin. Nothing in this Article shall be interpreted or applied to prevent the adoption or implementation of measures intended to provide equality of treatment and opportunity for members of groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.

Okay. That first sentence sounds good. Why not just leave it at that? It’s a smoke screen – a head fake — so voters will let down their guard. The second sentence seems unnecessary if all people are guaranteed equal protection, but it still seems pretty benign. (Spoiler alert, it’s not.) But it’s sentence three where this legal/constitutional vehicle’s tires screech in a 180 degree u-turn as it speeds away in a cloud of dust from its supposed intent. Read it again….

Nothing in this Article shall be interpreted or applied to prevent the adoption or implementation of measures intended to provide equality of treatment and opportunity for members of groups that have historically been subject to discrimination.

Translation: Woke lawmakers are free to pass laws that create special classes of people treated differently, not equally, under the law based on (back to that seemingly innocuous sentence two) “race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.” So, as Orwell eloquently described it, everyone’s equal, but these groups are more equal than others. This is ugly.

When Prop 4 was passing through the Senate, DEI activist Mark Hughes said the quiet part out loud when testifying before the Judiciary Committee. “We need to double down on everything that we can do to include protections to every vulnerable category, and Mr. Chair, respectfully, that’s everybody that’s not a white, ‘cis’ man.”

And there you have it. Prop 4 means “equal” rights for everybody who’s not a white, heterosexual male.

This is, of course, 1) racist, and 2) completely contrary to the stated purpose of the amendment. If the law provides protection for some people but not others, that is not “equality under the law.” Proponents of Prop 4 amendment are trying to trick voters into supporting this change to our state constitution – a big freaking deal – by saying it does the opposite of what it actually does, which is to codify legal discrimination against one class of people, and allow for unequal treatment under the law based on race, sexual orientation, national origin, etcetera.

So, if this disgusts you – if you’re a “white, ‘cis’ man,” the mother of one, spouse of one, sister of one, or friend of one — please contact your Representatives ASAP and tell them to vote NO on Proposition 4 when it comes up this week. And if they don’t listen to you, remember to vote against it yourself this November – along with the politicians who supported it.

You can find contact information for your Representatives HERE, or call and leave a message with the Sergeant at Arms at 802-828-2228.

Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 25 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank.