Pennsylvania hit a mile marker this week with the adoption of the state’s 25th LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance.
In a resounding 11-0 vote Monday night, the Jenkintown Borough Council approved a measure that will ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, property, employment and public accommodations.
“I’m very proud of this,” council president Allyson Dobbs said this week. “I think this is the new frontier in the fight for civil rights, and I’m very glad that we took a stand.”
The council began considering the ordinance in September, and Dobbs said many on council and in the community were surprised to learn that Pennsylvania lacks statewide nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals.
“Most people didn’t even realize it was legal to discriminate against any group,” she said. “So it was a shock to most people, and it certainly was to me, that this is allowed.”
Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, which worked with the council on the bill, said that’s a common sentiment.
“In the 21st century, people don’t believe that you can be evicted from your apartment or denied a hotel room or fired for being gay,” he said. “The more that people learn about the fact that discrimination is legal in Pennsylvania, the more appalled they are.”
The Jenkintown victory mirrors a wave of successful LGBT-inclusive ordinances in the past two years, as a statewide LGBT nondiscrimination measure continues to be stalled in the legislature.
Once residents and lawmakers come to understand that gap in the law, Martin said, support seems to flourish.
“What this clearly shows is that people — and not just LGBT folks, because many of the people we’ve worked with are not gay — find this to be appalling,” Martin said. “They want to raise their kids in communities that do not support discrimination. The more education we can have and the more we can reach out and give people the resources they need to move these ordinances forward, the more people are seeing how wrong this is. The state ultimately needs to act on this, but in lieu of that, people across Pennsylvania are acting.”
There was some opposition, Dobbs said, from some residents who were concerned the ordinance could be costly and others who objected on a religious basis.
Councilmembers considered passing the measure without a religious exemption but ultimately decided to include that provision so as to ensure it was strong enough to stand up in court.
While there were some objections, Dobbs said the ordinance had “overwhelming support” from most residents and business owners, and the unanimous council vote reflected that support.
“Most of our constituents went out of their way to reach out and say they supported this and supported protecting everyone,” she said. “My colleagues and I wanted to make sure that we are creating a community of tolerance so that we can move forward. I think we all share the same basic values of human justice, of protecting people’s civil rights.”
The borough, which occupies 0.6 square miles of land in Montgomery County on the border with Philadelphia, is home to about 4,500 residents.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].