Following are two articles about the hearings on H.B. 1400 on October 4th in
Have you considered the ramifications on your business or place of employment if this bill passes? It would affect every business in
We just have to look to
Even now those pushing this bill are saying it's a matter of stopping discrimination . . . no the real goal is to equate homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism to race, color and ethnicity and to declare unnatural sexual acts a civil right.
Please call your State Representative and let him or her know of your concerns about H.B. 1400. Click here for contact information.
Keep in mind:
1.) There's no religious exemption
2.) day cares, pre-schools, etc. would be required to hire homosexuals, bisexuals and transgenders
3.) if this bill becomes law, it will require businesses with four or more employees to permit men who think they are women to use women's restrooms and workplace locker rooms and shower facilities
4.) religious adoption agencies will be required to allow children to be adopted by homosexual couples
Click here to read Diane Gramley's testimony.
If you think the work of the AFA of PA is making a difference in
Only one other group has testified against the measure so far -- the American Family Association. Diane Gramley, president of the
As noted in the article below three from the Pittsburgh Catholic Charities testified against H.B. 1400 during the October 4th
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws:80/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A37140
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Charles Morrison, executive director of the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, gets calls all the time from lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people who've been discriminated against by potential landlords or employers. And while such discrimination is a clear violation of city law, often Morrison can do nothing to help ... because the person calling doesn't live in
For LGBT people in
In 1990, Dan Miller, now a member of
Miller was working as an accountant in Camp Hill, a small city outside
"In
A bill proposed by state Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Squirrel Hill) would change that. House Bill 1400 would bar discrimination based on "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" throughout the state. But while Frankel has amassed a sizable amount of support, doubters remain -- not least of them the Catholic Church, which contends that protecting gays would mean sacrificing its own religious freedom.
House Bill 1400 would extend anti-discrimination protections based on "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" across the entire state. The bill would amend the state's 1955 act creating the Human Rights Commission that forbids discrimination based on "race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age or national origin."
Across the state, 14 local governments -- including
"It's ridiculous to go from one municipality to another and not be able to enjoy the same protections," says Frankel. "We're trailing behind -- we've got 20 other states [with ordinances]; corporate
Frankel says the time is right for the bill: "I now have a committee chair [Babette Josephs, D-Philadephia], who is open to having the bill run in her committee and is a supporter of the bill. I have Democratic leadership I can work with who will schedule the bill for a vote, [and] a governor who clearly is in favor of this legislation. The stars begin to align themselves to make this the moment you can get legislation like this accomplished. It doesn't maintain a partisan identification."
Despite Frankel's optimism, passage of the bill is not a sure thing. He's proposed similar legislation in the past, and it's never made it into committee. And even with a Republican, Sam Browne, as the prime sponsor of corresponding Senate Bill 761, the house bill has only four Republican co-sponsors. All of them represent districts in the Eastern part of the state -- York,
"The major obstacle is, will the Senate even bring it up for a vote," says Frankel, noting the Senate's Republican leadership. "If we're successful at getting it through the House, there will be enormous pressure on the Senate to get it through."
A May 2007
"Public support for this type of legislation is strong," says Steve Glassman, chair of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. "This piecemeal protection is no substitute for an enforceable statewide law."
At public hearings on the bill in
"It strikes me that at the dawn of a new millennium we sit here and feel the need to codify what should be a fundamental human right," said Rep. Michael O'Brien, a Democratic co-sponsor from
Fireworks came when three speakers from the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference testified. They presented the only testimony against the bill during the four-hour hearing.
"Catholic institutions and agencies could find themselves subject to discrimination charges because of following teachings," said Philip Murren, legal counsel to the Conference. "There will be consequences for Catholic citizens when they are compelled by the state to condone conduct which their church teaches is immoral."
Rita Joyce, legal counsel to the diocese of Pittsburgh, said that all 6,300 employees of the diocese, including teachers and staff at its 101 elementary schools and 12 secondary schools, are required to sign a document asserting they won't live a life that is contrary to Catholic teachings.
Martha Beamer, director of adoption services for Catholic Charities, said, "If this bill is passed without allowing us to follow our religion's teachings, we may lose our state license." The charity, she added, is the largest provider of social services in
Three Conference members were grilled by Frankel: Josephs; Thomas Blackwell (D-Philadelphia), who compared anti-gay sentiment to the racism he says he faces daily; and a red-faced O'Brien, who spoke through gritted teeth: "I just can't get my head around how you can go with the concept of the right and proper thing to do. The right and proper thing to do is to allow everyone to live with dignity."
O'Brien said his late sister, a lesbian, lived for years in a convent as a chaste nun. He wondered whether Conference officials would have refused her service if they had known. Joyce said that if she were chaste, her sexual persuasion would have been of no concern to the church.
Frankel asked Conference representatives to provide him with more information about the situation in
"We're not trying to overcome church doctrine," Frankel said in an interview with CP. "What kind of exemptions, if any, would be reasonable? Clergy is one category, but other employees are a different issue." He said that in the case of adoption, there were a multitude of factors more important to a child's well-being than the sexual orientation of the potential parents, and that he hoped Catholic Charities would consider them.
Only one other group has testified against the measure so far -- the American Family Association. Diane Gramley, president of the
"Many, many faiths are supportive of LGBT people," notes Stacy Sobel, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, who attended the
Religious groups "ought to have the right to discriminate if it's a tenet of their religion," says Bruce Ledewitz, a law professor at
The Catholic Conference's objections to HB 1400, he says, seem reasonable up to a point. "Society determines the rules of the marketplace," he says, so things like renting apartments can be codified. But religious groups -- as opposed to individuals -- ought to be allowed to set policy according to their faith. For instance, he sees no problem with his employer, a Catholic institution, refusing to cover birth-control pills under its employee health benefits.
"I don't think the Catholic Church is trying to undermine anti-discrimination toward gay and lesbian people," he says. Instead, he figures they simply want to be assured of their right to practice their religion, which could be accomplished by writing a religious exemption into the legislation.
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There was also a battery of objections to the bill from Diane Gramley of the American Family Association.
Gramley was questioned politely but vigorously by Rep. Thomas Blackwell, who, despite his own Bible-based doubts about same-sex relationships, expressed support for the bill, comparing sexual-orientation discrimination to racial discrimination.
Finally, there was the astonishing refusal by committee Majority Chairwoman Babette Josephs to allow any questions, despite stressing the importance of citizen involvement and having 40 minutes to spare at the end of testimony.
NOTE: There was no interest from the audience in offering questions, until immediately following Diane Gramley's testimony. This could have gotten real ugly real quick if Representative Josephs had permitted this type questioning. We appreciate her professionalism in this matter.
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071027/OPINION02/710270346/-1/OPINION21
Article published
Gay event, hearing ignored
Is the Erie TimesNews losing interest in local events of special interest to the gay community and its allies?
First the Gay Pride march was ignored. Now it's the Oct. 5 State Government Committee hearing on House Bill 1400, which would ban sexualorientation discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
Here's an all-too-brief account of what readers missed.
There was often eloquent testimony in favor of the bill from Steve Glassman of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; Cathy Springer, the mother of a brave young man who was brutally harassed at Franklin High School; Reid McFarlane of the Erie County Human Relations Commission; Mike Mahler of Erie Gay News; Doris Cipolla, an elderly gay woman who came out after 35 years in the closet; Maureen Kosoff of Parent, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; Dave Martin of the American Civil Liberties Union; and Susan Woodland of the National Organization for Women.
There was also a battery of objections to the bill from Diane Gramley of the American Family Association.
Gramley was questioned politely but vigorously by Rep. Thomas Blackwell, who, despite his own Bible-based doubts about same-sex relationships, expressed support for the bill, comparing sexual-orientation discrimination to racial discrimination.
Finally, there was the astonishing refusal by committee Majority Chairwoman Babette Josephs to allow any questions, despite stressing the importance of citizen involvement and having 40 minutes to spare at the end of testimony.
When asked afterward about her refusal, she replied that audience involvement was not how things are done in General Assembly hearings.
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