This year promises to be big for the LGBT community as administrative regime changes take place at the state and local levels and fresh faces in the legislature encounter a bloc of equality advocates determined to push much-needed policy into law.
State legislative expectations
In 2015, constituents most likely will see the reintroduction of a host of LGBT-related bills that have surfaced in years past, but were consistently met with opposition from Republican legislators.
“Certainly, at the least, we will see the introduction of several of the bills we have seen in the past,” said Andy Hoover, legislative director for American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. “The nondiscrimination bill, hate crimes, school bullying. At the least, those bills will be introduced.”
Equality Pennsylvania executive director Ted Martin echoed those predictions.
“This session of the legislature, with regard to LGBT issues, will perhaps mimic the last session somewhat, with hopefully a much better outcome,” he said.
In addition to the issues mentioned above, Martin also said ensuring transgender people are covered in all policy issues will remain a priority.
“And HIV prevention and AIDS are always going to be on our radar,” he added.
Nondiscrimination legislation remains the widest-reaching legislation, addressing perhaps what is the most pervasive LGBT issue in the state — and tops many advocates’ list of priorities for the next session.
“We still don’t have a statewide law protecting against nondiscrimination,” Hoover said. “We passed marriage equality, which was huge, but you can get fired for [marrying] if your employer is not welcoming.”
A nondiscrimination bill would protect LGBTs in everyday situations: going to a restaurant, buying a home or renting an apartment, shopping for a wedding photographer. State law currently prohibits discrimination on such bases as race and religion, but sexual orientation and gender identity remain excluded from the list. Several-dozen municipalities have enacted their own LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, but the majority of the state’s residents live outside those jurisdictions.
“About 70 percent of people at large live somewhere where they don’t have those protections,” Hoover said.
“Our main goal is to pass nondiscrimination legislation,” Martin added. “Our effort will be both to introduce House and Senate Bill 300 and to continue the bipartisan nature of the legislation last session. I think there will be more support this time around. We feel it is pretty fundamental to the Pennsylvania LGBT community.”
Announced legislation
There are a few pieces of legislation that have already been announced for the upcoming terms.
State Rep. Mark Cohen will be introducing two major transgender-rights bills, one regarding transgender students and the other transgender health care.
The first will amend the Public School Code to eliminate gender-based restrictions and prerequisites for transgender students. The bill would allow all students who identify with a certain gender to use that gender’s spaces and would bar harassment in gender-segregated spaces.
The second would expand health-care coverage for transgender individuals, which would require coverage of transition-related care, including hormone therapy, mental-health care and surgery in all private, public and Medicaid plans, the latter being critical to a group experiencing a high poverty rate.
State Sen. Anthony Williams (D-8th Dist.) issued a co-sponsorship memo in December announcing plans to reintroduce Senate Bill 872 to ban state-licensed mental-health professionals from engaging in sexual-orientation “reparative” or “conversion” therapy with minors.
According to Williams’ memo, sexual-orientation change efforts covered under the bill include therapies, counseling or other means of practice seeking to change a minor’s sexual orientation.
Fresh faces
There is a growing sense among state advocates that with fresh — and hopefully more supportive — faces in Harrisburg and growing public support, or at the least rising favorable opinion, that full equality in Pennsylvania is only a matter of time.
“The legislature is slightly more conservative and is always going to be a difficult place to have LGBT-related conversations,” Martin said. “But there is a general sense that this is both an issue of fairness, and economic development, and that its time has come.”
Martin cited the oft-circulated rumor in Harrisburg that “on average, it takes six years to get anything passed.” And that’s about how long Democrats have been introducing LGBT-inclusive hate-crime and nondiscrimination bills. Last session saw the highest number of Republican cosponsors on such bills, according to Martin. And the Center City Philadelphia gay-bashing incident that drew national attention did much to jolt some Republicans into rethinking their stance, he added.
Hoover pointed to new majority leaders in the state House and Senate as potential supporters.
“I think probably, two people to keep an eye on are the new majority leaders in the legislature,” said Hoover. “The House is Dave Reed (R-62nd Dist.), a young guy, 36, representing parts of Indiana County, that fits in that generation of people who don’t think that LGBT issues are a big deal. Then there is Jake Corman (R-34 Dist.), the leader in the Senate, whose district includes State College. To some extent, they are blank slates and hopefully supportive on these issues.”
As for Gov.-elect Tom Wolf, Hoover’s hopes are high, but he said there are variables to consider.
“It depends on how much of a priority he will make LGBT issues. When it comes time to negotiate with the legislature, will he make it a priority?”
Martin was a little more optimistic.
“He has made outspoken commitments on these issues,” he said. “He is the governor of the sixth-largest state in the country. When you have people in positions like this talking about LGBT issues, people pay attention.”
Philadelphia
After two terms, incumbent Democratic Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will serve his last days this year. A primary election for the next mayor will be held May 19.
Under Nutter’s administration, the Office for LGBT Affairs was created, the rainbow flag was raised for the first time at City Hall and legislation such as the Equal Benefits Bill, which mandated some city contractors to extend benefits to same-sex partners of employees, was passed — large shoes to fill for his successor.
Declared Democratic primary candidates for the 2015 Philadelphia mayoral election so far include: Lynne Abraham, former Philadelphia district attorney; Nelson Diaz, former city solicitor and former Common Pleas judge; Ken Trujillo, former city solicitor; Doug Oliver, PGW official and Nutter’s former press secretary; and Anthony H. Williams, minority whip of the Pennsylvania Senate and 2010 Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate.
Potential candidates as suggested by the local media include Philadelphia City Council President Darrell L. Clarke and City Councilman Jim Kenney.