A new statewide network launched this week that grew from the building efforts in the past two years to achieve local-level LGBT nondiscrimination victories.
The Suburban and Rural Alliance of Pennsylvania officially took shape this week to track the progress of nondiscrimination ordinances throughout the state. The group is functioning as an operating network and is comprised of organizers and backers of the 30 local laws that ban discrimination against LGBT people — the majority of which were passed in the past two years.
Webmaster Jason Landau Goodman, who founded Equality Lower Merion and went on to helm the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition, said the network saw an “organic” growth.
“We started meeting in the summer of 2010 and there was a lot of energy from Doylestown and Lower Merion,” he said. “I received a lot of emails from folks trying to start ordinances in their towns and it was a critical meeting of the minds for local advocates.”
There have been a number of subsequent meetings, and advocates from different municipalities have shared best practices and gotten involved in ordinance efforts throughout the region.
SARA’s website includes copies of each of the 30 ordinances, the first time they have all been gathered in one accessible location. It provides histories of each effort, including links to news stories.
It also includes a step-by-step guide for ordinances.
“I started as a local organizer and am very much an advocate for, first and foremost, local leaders being able to advocate for and communicate with their local government leaders on local issues,” Landau Goodman said. “Certainly in many cases in the past couple years government leaders have taken the lead on doing this, but it’s also come very much from within local communities, so it’s fantastic to have all of this information out there to help people with future efforts.”
Network member Andrea Myers helped lead the effort to pass an ordinance in Hatboro that was vetoed by the mayor. Myers, who is now running for Hatboro Council, said SARA will be able to provide practical, often susprising information to Pennsylvanians.
“You have a lot of people who don’t even know that two-thirds of Pennsylvania doesn’t provide protections for the LGBT community,” she said. “So this is a great source of information.”
Landau Goodman said he hopes the network demonstrates the need for statewide legislation.
“We hope that Pennsylvanians learn about the struggles of discrimination that LGBT people have faced across the state and, through that, can understand how and why we have fought for local laws, which will make it clear why we need a state law.”
For more information, visit www.sarapennsylvania.org.