Pennsylvanians will have the opportunity to take part in an open discussion about the future of the LGBT-rights movement in the next month, with a traveling town-hall series hosted by a group of state and national civil-rights agencies.
The LGBT Equality Coalition kicked off its first public meeting Monday night in Bethlehem, followed by a similar event Dec. 9 in Wilkes-Barre.
The series is sponsored by Equality Pennsylvania, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the Human Rights Campaign and the Value All Families Coalition to enable LGBT residents to voice their concerns about issues important to them and participate directly in the planning process to advance LGBT rights in the state.
The coalition will host the Philadelphia town-hall meeting Jan. 10 and a Harrisburg event Jan. 12, with meetings in Pittsburgh and Erie also in the works.
Ted Martin, executive director of Equality PA, said his agency was eager to meet directly with members of the public in light of recent changes in the organization.
“We thought this was a really good opportunity after all of the restructuring Equality PA has been going through in the last six months to get out there and talk to people,” he said. “We want to talk to them not just about the work we’ve been doing over the past few months, but also we need to discuss how this year’s election is going to be impacting the gay community over the next two years. It’s important for us to have these conversations about what we think people can expect and find out what they suggest we should be doing.”
Martin added that the two-way exchange that occurs at the meetings will be key to helping ideas and information flow effectively.
“We obviously want to make this an opportunity for the community to talk and to voice what’s on its mind. But it’s also a chance for me and representatives of the other organizations to share our views on where things stand and what we think needs to be done, and then open that up to the public. We want everyone to talk and get their voices heard.”
While the public commentary offered during the meetings will be influential in shaping future advocacy work, said Andy Hoover, legislative director at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the meetings could also help generate a new base of citizen activists.
“We, as advocates, don’t want to be in a bubble,” he said. “We want to be sure we’re constantly communicating with the community and recruiting people who are willing to get involved. Nonprofits like all of us have limited capacities, so it’s really helpful if we’re able to get in touch with people who are willing and passionate and want to get involved. So we need to hear what people are thinking and feeling and also need to engage them to get active.”
In terms of the first leg of that mission, Hoover said discussions will likely run the gamut, with expected conversations about the future of LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination, relationship-recognition legislation and efforts to stave off a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
With Republicans set to control both the state House and Senate and an incoming Republican governor, many LGBTs have worried that progress in the state could be stymied in the foreseeable future.
Hoover noted that while the advocates need to plan for the future realistically, they also should note that, significantly, LGBT collective concerns were not used as a wedge issue in last month’s election.
“This election clearly was not about LGBT issues or about any other civil liberties in general. There was no mandate there that the new government is going to come in and try to restrict LGBT rights,” Hoover said. “We’re hopeful that the new governor and the state legislature understand these issues, and we’re going to have to have conversations with them about the importance of moving certain legislation forward.”
Regardless of whether the new elected officials support LGBT issues, Hoover said equality organizations and the people they represent can work in tandem to formulate the best plans to achieve progress.
“There’s always going to be work to do to advance equality for LGBT people regardless of who’s in power, whether in the state or federal government, Democrats or Republicans. We at the ACLU work to convince people from both parties why equality is important, and we want to have a conversation with people in the community about how we’re going to do that. We’re looking to see the community get focused and get engaged in advocating for civil rights.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].