To the Editor:

I am writing in response to a letter in your Oct. 24 Altamont Enterprise concerning New York’s Proposition 1 [“Opponents of Prop 1 are engaging in fear-mongering,” Oct. 25, 2024].

When it comes to Prop 1 on the back of the ballot this year and the inferred fear-mongering that opponents of the proposition are accused of engaging in, nothing could be further from the truth.

When a proposition is deceptively announced to the public and that proposition takes parents’ rights away from protecting their children who are being convinced that they are the wrong gender, and that they should be allowed to choose a medical procedure without their parents’ consent, or even knowledge, this proposition goes against everything that America stands for.

The person from Guilderland who wrote the letter herself engaged in fear-mongering furthering the misunderstanding the radical left thrives on with propositions like Prop 1. Why anyone feels a change is necessary to the 247-year-old constitution of New York state to further the left-wing agenda of the radical left party in New York state is obvious on its face.

This proposition takes parents’ rights away from protecting their children, and it takes us further down the dark road of the radical left, furthering their progress over the past five or 10 years when it comes to minimizing parents’ rights, not to mention allowing men to participate in women’s sports and be in locker rooms, extend addition constitutional rights to undocumented persons, open the door for future revoking of parental rights to speak on behalf of our children’s education and medical decisions, and worse yet, vilifying anyone and everyone who speaks out against such a movement.

There’s a lot of hype around the propositions in New York’s Prop 1, and I urge all New Yorkers to do your homework and read the document, and decide for yourself, but please, I beg of you, do not believe the hype.

Take a stand to protect our kids, girls’ sports, and parents’ rights.

This proposition further breaks down our society, and the foundational bedrock that makes our country stand out in the world, which is the American family.

Vote no on New York’s Prop 1 on Nov 5.

Peter Salerno

Formerly of Voorheesville

Editor’s note: New York state does not allow minors to obtain gender-affirming care without parental consent.

The state already has protections for athletes to compete in youth sports on teams that align with their gender identity.

Anti-discrimination protection against transgender people would be strengthened by the proposed constitutional amendment.