The American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity last week named Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims as one of the recipients of The 2015 Stonewall Award. The award honors LGBT advancements in the legal profession.
The committee named the award after the New York City Stonewall Inn police raid and riot of June 28, 1969.
The award recognizes lawyers who have considerably advanced LGBT individuals in the legal profession and successfully championed LGBT legal causes.
Jim Holmes, chair of the ABA’s committee, said Sims is “a public servant and visible example for the community. He has been out and very proud, and continues to be a model for young LGBT attorneys and the whole community. He is a proven visible leader in the legislature.”
Sims is the first openly LGBT person to be elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He is the former president of the board of directors of Equality Pennsylvania and former chair of Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Pennsylvania. He also introduced a bill in the state House to help reduce and eliminate the gender gap in pay as well as legislation to ban conversion therapy for minors.
In reaction to hearing the news that he received the award, Sims said, “It has been a wonderful year-and-a-half for me, and I got a few awards that meant a lot. But I always wanted to grow up and be a civil-rights attorney. Ask anyone who knew me growing up and they will tell you I wanted to be an attorney. When I became a legislator, I was fearful of giving up being a lawyer. To be recognized by the ABA for my legal work is absolutely amazing. It’s just an honor.”
The SOGI committee leads the ABA’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and full and equal participation by LGBT people in the ABA, the legal profession and society. Created in 2007, the commission seeks to secure equal treatment in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
In working towards these goals. Sims said, “Perhaps the most personally impactful goal of mine in Pennsylvania is helping us [in the legislature] get beyond this idea that equality in PA is a partisan issue. I’m a proud progressive, but I’m in a position to be more thoughtful than an ideologue. Being thoughtful in this position over the past year has allowed former non-supporters to become supporters. We are changing the discussion from partisan to bipartisan.”
Looking ahead to next year, Sims has two legislative goals in mind.
“House Bill 300, LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination, and closing the pay gap and creating pay equity for women,” he said. “Both will have an immediate impact for all Pennsylvanians.”
Sims will receive the honor in February at the ABA’s Midyear Meeting in Houston. He will be joined by fellow Stonewall Awardees Kate Kendall, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Lise Iwon, a family-law attorney and the first out lesbian to serve as president of the Rhode Island Bar Association.