We all need to be watchful of the smoke and mirrors often used to pass laws that would, normally, never get passed by informed voters — at least in the following case.

The liberal State Legislature and governor are trying to pull a fast one on all state voters. It’s buried in the so-called Equal Rights Amendment to the State Constitution. It will be on the back side of your ballot, listed as Proposition 1 (Prop 1) for Nov. 5.

What’s in this proposition?

It’s an amendment to our State Constitution. That means future State Legislatures and future governors, perhaps of other political persuasions, will be prevented from changing the law without also making a new amendment to the Constitution.

It will be locked in, nailed to the barn door, whether you like it or not. In other words, it codifies things you might not like and makes them the law of the land.

What’s hidden in this proposition?

It puts abortion rights into the Constitution. Not necessary since New York legalized abortion in 1970 and this law is not under any genuine threat of modification or repeal.

Some of this is to counter the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal on Roe vs Wade. The decision was to return the issue to individual states as the federal government does not have the power, under the US Constitution, to make a national law either for or against abortion.

Here’s the real reason for it. It updates the constitution so no New Yorker can be denied their rights based on ethnicity, national origin, disability, sex — including gender expression — pregnancy or pregnancy outcome, reproductive healthcare and autonomy.

That last one reads as healthcare providers having to cover operations like sex changes.

The bottom line – this amendment is vaguely worded for a reason. Among other things, it could be used to block parents from having a say whether their children undergo gender reassessment surgery. It might be used to strip parent’s legal rights with school age children including controversial gender transformation procedures.

Another oppositional point includes schools being required to permit biological males competing on girls’ sports teams or individual sporting contests. And don’t forget coed bathrooms.

If you are in agreement with this proposition, then by all means vote for it. But if it bothers you, you can color in the no box.

Richard Lancaster is a Westfield resident.