Local and state leaders participated in a panel discussion Thursday about action needed to move LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination measures forward.
Human Rights Campaign Greater Philadelphia hosted the discussion with Attorney General Josh Shapiro, stateRep. Brian Sims, Unite Here executive board members Meanda Hall and Bethany Holmes, GALAEI Youth Programs Manager Fran Cortes and Temple University professor of political science Heath Fogg Davis. Cortes and Davis also serve on the Mayor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs.
Michael Colligan, a steering committee member for the local HRC chapter, moderated two separate panels at the Church of The Holy Trinity. More than 40 people were in attendance.
Shapiro and Sims spoke on LGBT-inclusive laws waiting to be passed and their stances on President Donald Trump’s policies.
Shapiro said he was among the many government officials who spoke out against Trump’s transgender military ban, adding that he will not “stand by” to allow anti-LGBT laws to be put in effect.
“Continue to be engaged,” Shapiro told the audience. “Do that work. And I know that together, we have a very bright future in this commonwealth.”
Sims noted that Pennsylvania remains one of the only states without a statewide LGBT civil right other than marriage equality. Additionally, he said the LGBT-inclusive Pennsylvania Fairness Act is being “held back” by Republican leadership. He added that LGBT people should call Speaker of the House Mike Turzai’s office to share personal stories in an effort to get him to bring the legislation forward.
“We know now that our personal stories are actually the most effective tool in advocacy,” Sims said. “An ‘I, me’ type of personal story to a decision-maker is most likely to get them to challenge their values about something, especially if they’re already an opponent.”
Local activist Mike Hisey said he would be willing to share his story with people like Turzai. During the Q&A portion of the presentation, he spoke on his experience.
“I never thought that equality and discrimination in the workplace would even affect me but it did and it was only two-and-a-half years ago,” Hisey said. “I was fired by the owner of our company when he found out I was HIV-positive. Two of the colleagues that I worked with were extremely homophobic and I constantly battled with them. So that helped them to fire me as well. The funny thing is they promised me that everything would be OK when I reported it and they fired me the next day.”
Hall, Holmes, Davis and Cortes spoke on their local grassroots efforts, answering Colligan’s questions. Davis, who consults for organizations about implementing trans-inclusive policies, recommended paying attention to single-user restrooms in the city; City Council passed a 2015 bill requiring these bathrooms be designated as gender-inclusive.
“If they have a single-occupancy bathroom that is marked with a male or female, talk to the manager,” Davis said. “Like Brian [Sims said during his earlier remarks], do it in a polite and respectful way. I tend to take the opinion that most people want to do the right thing. They don’t intend to be discriminating.”
Colligan asked the panel how their work has changed in light of the new administration and what shifts they expect in the next three to five years.
“We’re trying to figure out how to deal with these issues in the workplace,” Holmes said. “We deal with homophobia not just through management but honestly among co-workers as well.”
Meanwhile, Hall talked about her own experience with discrimination in the workplace. She recalled how she tried to work with her fellow employees to stand up to their boss.
“I had two problems: I was gay and we had a horrible boss,” Hall said. “Me trying to organize was very hard because I had to get them to see first that they can trust me. Every gay person is not attracted to you. We are human. We are real people, real humans, and we deserve to be respected.”
For one of the final questions, Colligan asked the panelists what gives them hope in the fight for LGBT equality. Cortes said he derives inspiration from “the resiliency of the young folks” he works with at GALAEI.
“I sometimes go home really sad with everything that I’m seeing and everything that I’m hearing,” he said. “To come back to the office the next day and see the same young person who just told me a traumatic experience — who never gets the privilege of sitting in front of a panel like this or have their voices heard — and come that next day with a smile on their face and ready to get the day moving is what really pushes me through.”