The trend of LGBT victories in the suburbs continued this week, as Haverford passed an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance.
Haverford is on its way to becoming the 19th jurisdiction in the state to ban LGBT discrimination, as the township commission voted 5-3, with one abstention, at its Jan. 10 meeting to adopt a measure that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations. The commission must approve the bill on a second reading, which is expected to take place at next month’s commissioners’ meeting, before it can become law.
Haverford, population 49,000, is located just west of Philadelphia.
In addition to banning LGBT discrimination, the ordinance creates a human-relations commission to investigate complaints.
The approval comes after the bill faced several setbacks.
The issue was first addressed at a commissioner’s meeting earlier this year by openly gay resident Lou Devecchis.
Commissioner Larry Holmes introduced the measure this past fall but tabled it in November after fellow commissioners proposed a series of questions that required the consultation of the city solicitor. He brought it up again last month, but it was again tabled by a fellow commissioner.
Holmes again introduced the measure this month, this time achieving success.
Prior to the vote, community members engaged in a lengthy debate on the merits of the measure.
State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Dist. 17), who spearheaded the state’s marriage-equality bill, assured the commission and audience members that state allies were doing their best to press for a statewide LGBT-nondiscrimination ordinance, but that progress was slow. He listed the many municipalities throughout the state that have, with increasing frequency, been approving such measures, and Holmes said many in attendance were surprised by some of the jurisdictions on the list.
Holmes said that public reaction has been “certainly not neutral,” and that this week’s meeting had the most heated debate he’s seen in his six years on the commission.
Some residents urged the commission to vote against the bill and others told them to move slowly on it, but many others offered support, bolstered by their personal stories.
“We had three high-school students who got up and talked about how being gay themselves or being friends with gay students has affected them and how important a law like this is,” Holmes said. “The greatest advocates for things like this aren’t politicians but people whose lives are affected by these laws. When they get up and they tell us their experiences, that’s really effective and eye-opening.”
Devecchis, founder of Haverford Pride, said the effort to pass the measure has galvanized the LGBT community in the area.
“Watching this come to fruition has been incredible,” Devecchis said. “It was amazing to see the community step forward and see so many people getting behind this.” Support came from more than the LGBT community: Holmes said one of the most poignant comments came from a World War II veteran, who has spoken out at every community meeting Holmes has ever attended.
“He gave a very, very effective and heartfelt speech about how ‘and justice for all’ is what he fought for in World War II and why something like this is important for all people,” Holmes said. “It was just terrific and really took a lot of people by surprise.”
In the next few weeks, the measure will be the subject of a work session, which will include input from Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission chair Steve Glassman, before receiving a second vote.
If the measure undergoes substantial changes in the work session, which Holmes does not foresee happening, it would have to come up for a first reading again.