That’s the message Whitpain officials sent to Harrisburg with a resolution passed at the March 18 board of supervisors meeting.
The resolution says the board supports any action or legislation by the state Legislature “to ensure that all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, enjoy the full benefits of citizenship and are afforded equal opportunities for employment, housing, public and private contracts and the use of public accommodations,” according to the meeting agenda.
Pennsylvania law currently does not designate members of the LGBT community as a protected class, not affording them the same protections against discrimination as other minority groups. Bills put forward in both the House and the Senate aim to expand these protections.
The idea for the resolution surfaced during the board’s Feb. 18 meeting, when Supervisor Ken Wollman proposed creating a human relations ordinance to protect members of the LGBT community from discrimination in the township. The other supervisors agreed with the sentiment of the proposal but said they felt it was an issue better determined by the state, not individual municipalities. The board’s operations committee then drafted the resolution urging the state to take appropriate action.
Prior to the vote on the resolution, board Vice Chairman Adam Zucker said the supervisors all agreed on the “equal treatment of all individuals” and said he believes people do not choose their gender identity or sexual orientation “no more than they choose their fingerprints. It is an integral part of who they are.”
Read the full story from The Times Herald here.
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