City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown proposed a bill last Thursday that would make permanent the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs.
The measure would essentially make the office immune to closure by any future mayoral administrations that are less LGBT-friendly than Mayor Michael Nutter, who established the office in 2008.
“Philadelphia has an international reputation as a city that both celebrates diversity and has no tolerance for intolerance,” Reynolds Brown said. “This bill offers the LGBT community a permanent seat and voice at the table.”
To permanently incorporate the office into city administration, Reynolds Brown’s legislation calls for the Home Rule Charter to be amended, which requires a public vote. If Council passes the bill and Nutter signs it, voters in the November general election would be asked the following ballot question: “Shall The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter be amended to establish and define the functions of the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Affairs, headed by a Director of LGBT Affairs?”
“As the office stands now, it exists at the interest or not of the next mayor,” Reynolds Brown told PGN. “I believe that the Office of LGBTA should not be at the whim of executive order, but a permanent part of this city. It’s the right thing to do.”
Reynolds Brown said the bill would pass through the normal legislative process and hopes it will clear Council and be signed by the mayor in time for it to appear on the November ballot.
According to Reynolds Brown, the bill is a direct result of long-running coordinated efforts between her office and Nutter’s, who endorsed it last week.
“When I became mayor, I was proud to establish the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs and appoint the late Gloria Casarez as its first director,” Nutter said. “Making this office permanent under the City of Philadelphia charter ensures that the LGBT community will continue to be represented in city government, and that the good work done to advance LGBT issues over the last seven years will carry on well into the future.”
Reynolds Brown was one of two prime sponsors of last fall’s legislation to instate penalties for anti-LGBT hate crimes, which stemmed from a gay-bashing incident in Center City. She said she has long felt connected to the discrimination faced by the LGBT community.
“Years ago I witnessed up close and personal how my close gay male friends were mistreated every day. As a black female, seeing another minority discriminated against hurt me deeply and really sensitized me to those issues,” she said. “When the gay-bashing incident brought inequality and discrimination to the forefront, we enacted the local LGBT-inclusive hate-crimes bill. This new bill is a chance for us to take the next step to ensure greater equality.”
After Casarez passed away in October, Nutter named Nellie Fitzpatrick to head the office, who applauded the legislative effort.
“I am extremely proud of the bill introduced by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, and grateful for her continued dedication to making Philadelphia a city that values and protects all of its citizens,” Fitzpatrick said. “Today’s bill is an opportunity for Philadelphia to continue to lead the nation toward equality for all. The bill represents far more than a change to the charter. It symbolizes our ongoing commitment as a city, and as a society, to the equal and fair treatment of our LGBT citizens.”