This week, the state House Government Committee passed HB 300, the statewide nondiscrimination bill. Though introduced previously, this is the first time the bill has made it out of committee and to the full House for consideration.
If passed, the bill will prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodation.
Advocates have worked hard for this, and the next few months will be crucial in its progress. Though the bill’s chances are slim in the Republican-controlled Senate, it’s possible the Democratic-controlled House could approve it this session.
This bill is important for many reasons, namely to protect the roughly 75 percent of Pennsylvanians who live outside of municipalities that already offer protection to sexual minorities. While Philadelphia and 13 other cities and towns have such laws, the rest of the state does not.
This means that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals can be fired and denied housing or accommodations for no other reason than someone doesn’t like their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. And they have no recourse.
This bill would change that, providing legal protections and recourse to LGBT people.
We are thankful to those who have advocated for this bill and for this vote, including committee chair Babette Josephs; Dan Frankel, who co-sponsored the bill; committee vice chair Michael O’Brien; committeemembers Louise Bishop, Brendan Boyle, Mark Cohen, Lawrence Curry and Frank Oliver; Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission chair Steve Glassman; Equality Advocates Pennsylvania; the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania; and the Women’s Law Project.
That said, it’s also significant that Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast that does not have an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination law: New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine have protections that include sexual orientation and gender identity; New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts have protections for sexual orientation only.
Now, it’s crucial that constituents contact their representatives in support of this bill. Let them know who you are and how this bill will affect you, your partner, your family.
It’s also time for Gov. Rendell and the Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate to take the lead on this.
As Democrats, they cannot take the support of the LGBT community for granted. And as Democrats, their party platform specifically states they will “fight to end discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity … ”
It’s time the community held them to that party promise.