LGBTQ advocates, allies rally at the Capitol for nondiscrimination law

LGBTQ advocates and their allies in the General Assembly rallied on the Capitol steps Tuesday in support of a long-sought bill that would ban housing, employment and public accommodation discrimination on the basis of someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

“We should not be inhibited by people who want to go backward — and we’re not going backward,” said Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, one of two openly gay lawmakers in the General Assembly. “I know you’ll be in this fight. This good music will lead to good engagement with people in this building.”

Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., prohibit employment and housing discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

A bill, backed by House Democrats, is now before the chamber’s State Government Committee. The panel’s new chairman, Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming, has said he’s not opposed to considering the legislation.

And though LGBTQ Pennsylvanians — along with the rest of the nation — have had the right to marry since 2015, attendees at Tuesday’s rally noted that it’s still legal for them to be denied employment or housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“You can get married, but you can’t put your wedding picture on your desk because you might get fired,” said Rep. MaryLouise Isaacson, D-Philadelphia. “You deserve equal protection under the law.”

This didn’t upload the first time for some reason: At #PaCapitol, a dance party for a long-overdue #LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill. #papolitics pic.twitter.com/aE5Jn5Jm3H

— ByJohnLMicek (@ByJohnLMicek) October 29, 2019

Pointing to broad public support for such measures, Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-Bucks, said the Pennsylvania bill would “pass overwhelmingly,” if it were brought to a vote in the Republican-controlled House or Senate. “Each and every one of us needs to speak up. It’s the 21st Century. It’s enough.”

A March 2019 poll by the Public Religion Research Institute showed broad, bipartisan support for nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans. The nationwide poll showed 68 percent support for such a measure in Pennsylvania.

Majorities of liberals (81 percent), moderates (76 percent), and conservatives (55 percent) all favor nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, the poll showed.