The chair of the Montgomery County Commissioners this week instructed the city’s attorney to investigate the legalities of the county adopting a county-wide LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance.
Montgomery County is the third-most populous county in the state, with about 800,000 residents, and would be only the fourth county — of the state’s 67 — to adopt such a law.
The most populous counties, Philadelphia and Allegheny, adopted such laws in 1982 and 2009. Erie County took on an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance in 2002.
Commissioner Josh Shapiro said county solicitor Ray McGarry is assembling a work group to explore the possibility of such an ordinance.
Among the issues the group will consider, Shapiro said, is if the county — which is not a “home-rule” county — has the authority to adopt such a measure.
“We’re governed by the second-class County Code, and that does not expressly say that we can do this, but it also doesn’t say we can’t,” Shapiro told PGN this week. “So we want to legally explore what we are permitted to do.”
Shapiro said McGarry will tap “a group of people representing the cross-section of Montgomery County” for the group.
He expects the work group to report back to him within a few months and, depending on their conclusion, the board of commissioners would then draft the ordinance.
The county does not currently have a nondiscrimination ordinance.
In the past several years, several-dozen Pennsylvania municipalities, including several in Montgomery County, have adopted ordinances to close the gap created by the lack of a statewide LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination measure. Most of those ordinances have extended to employment, housing and public accommodations.
Shapiro said he envisions any potential law to be “as broad and inclusive as possible, but it’s too soon to say what the specific language would be.”
He added this it’s “critically important to be a progressive county and one that lets everyone know their rights will be protected, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, and obviously other characteristics as well. This would send the right message to people looking to live and work here, that their county is open to all and inclusive of everyone.”
Shapiro noted that the county has nondiscrimination policies for employees that it has extended to include sexual orientation and gender identity and that it provides domestic-partner benefits for employees.
If the county moves forward with a proposed ordinance, Shapiro said he thinks most residents will support the decision.
“I’m sure there will be some who disagree with our action but that shouldn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to press for equal rights. And I think those who would oppose it, should we propose this ordinance, would be in the minority.”
Shapiro and Commission Vice Chair Leslie Richards included a pledge to spearhead such a measure in their 2011 campaign.
Shapiro, who previously was a member of the Pennsylvania House, was one of the original cosponsors of the long-stalled legislation to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law.
“I still hope that this will pass but, in its absence, I want to make sure at least that Montgomery County is a progressive and inclusive place to work,” he said.
