Lawmakers, advocates rally for the House, Senate to pass LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill

* This post was updated at 11:44 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 to clarify that the bill passed a House committee vote. 

Lawmakers and advocates gathered on the Capitol steps Wednesday to celebrate a House’s committee’s passage of HB 300, an LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill years in the making, and to call on the state Senate to take up the legislation.

The bill, also known as the “Fairness Act” was approved by a state House committee on Monday.

The bill will need to pass the full House and Senate before it can be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“Having legalized discrimination here is a deterrent, a signal, that this commonwealth is not welcoming,” state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, said at the rally. “That’s just flat-out embarrassing to a clear majority of Pennsylvanians.”

House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, said that while the passage of an LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill is “long overdue,” Pennsylvanians should be proud of the progress that has been made.

“Although it’s long overdue, it’s finally happening,” McClinton said. “We are finally joining all the other states around us and doing the right thing.”

In a statement issued shortly after the rally, Shapiro urged lawmakers to get the legislation to his desk “as fast as possible.”

“This is about ensuring all Pennsylvanians are protected under the law equally and expanding real freedom in our Commonwealth. It’s time to get it done,” Shapiro said. “I would proudly sign this bill.”