6 JUNE 27, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
R’wood mom hails ‘Erin’s Law’ passage
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
A Ridgewood activist can fi nally
rest after “Erin’s Law” was
overwhelmingly approved by
the Assembly in the waning hours of
the legislative session early Friday
morning, making New York the 37th
state to adopt the measure.
Connie Altamirano, a 45-year-old
single mother of two who suffers
from PTSD and other complications
following her own sexual abuse as a
child, had worked tirelessly advocating
for the passage of the Child Victims
Act, which Governor Andrew Cuomo
signed into law in February. She vowed
that she would not stop lobbying eff orts
in Albany until Erin’s Law was passed
as well.
Sponsored by state Senator
Alessandra Biaggi of the Bronx, the bill
requires the commissioner of education
to make recommendations to the board
of regents relating to instruction on
preventing child sexual exploitation
and abuse in kindergarten through
eighth grade. The goal is to provide
training for children to identify and
appropriately respond to sexual
abuse.
“We made history today in the New
York Assembly,” Altamirano said. “I
commend the Assembly members for
passing Erin’s Law and setting forth the
most important educational tool that
will not only educate but help give a
voice to children who have been victims
of sexual abuse. What our educational
system was lacking for decades was a
sexual abuse prevention curriculum
that will help break the prevalent cycle
of systematic childhood sexual abuse.”
Altamirano stressed that Erin’s
Law will provide a tool for children
to protect themselves, to know the
diff erence between safe and unsafe
touches as well as safe and unsafe
secrets.
“It gives a lifeline to children letting
them know it’s all right to talk about
what happened to them,” Altamirano
said. “It could save them from years of
rape abuse and the trauma it causes
survivors.”
Named for Erin Merryn, the survivor
who founded Erin’s Law only watch it
fail to pass the Assembly in each of the
last seven years aft er it had passed in
the Senate, she was pleased to see the
Assembly pass by an overwhelming
143-1 vote.
“I have spent the past seven years
spending thousands of hours on
the phone and sending emails to
legislators and reporters, dozens of
media interviews trying to pass Erin’s
Law in New York,” Merryn said. “The
children of New York will fi nally have
a voice and be armed with the ability
to speak up and tell if they have been
abused because of this education they
will receive once a year under Erin’s
Law.”
She also thanks the Albany-based
activist and child sex abuse survivor
Gary Greenburg who created Fighting
for Children PAC who worked closely
with Altamirano in putting pressure
on lawmakers to pass the legislation.
“Erin’s Law will complement the Child
Victims Act as a necessary educational
component,” Greenburg said. “Let’s
continue to empower our children
against rampant sexual abuse, expose
abusers and break this epidemic one
piece of legislation at a time.”
It was an emotional journey
for Altamirano who found herself
hysterically crying aft er Erin’s Law
passed.
“There’s joy, but it’s always bittersweet
because I’m fi ghting for that little girl
inside me that was so terrorized. I
fought so hard for this for my children,
the children of New York state and to
rectify my own past,” Altamirano said.
“When I found my voice I made it my
mission to pass the Child Victims Act
and Erin’s Law and then I was going to
relax and retire. But the pain doesn’t go
away and so I will continue to do all I
can to protect children.”
Now she wants Governor Andrew
Cuomo to sign it into law so the mandated
curriculum can be implemented in time
for the new school year in September.
“You’ll be giving children a voice so
they can say, ‘This is happening to me’
and we don’t want to wait another year,”
Altamirano said. “I kept my promise
and kept up the fi ght. I did good and I’m
very proud of the work I did.”
Activist Connie Altamirano awaiting
the passage of Erin’s Law with fellow
advocates Erin Merryn and Gary
Greenburg at the state Assembly.
Courtesy of Connie Altamirano
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