VICTORY! Discriminatory Marriage Bill Tabled in Senate Committee!

This Tuesday the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee cast an historic vote to keep discrimination out of the State Constitution. In a bipartisan 8-6 vote, the committee voted to "table" the bill.  Though through procedure the bill may be brought up again this session, the discriminatory and divisive bill is effectively dead.

The bill, sponsored by Senator John Eichelberger Jr. (R-30), would have amended the constitution to read, “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid and recognized as a marriage in this commonwealth.”

The vote before a “packed hearing room” crossed political and regional boundaries as three Republicans joined five Democrats in a vote to table the bill. According to the Judiciary Committee Chairman Stewart Greenleaf--who voted against the motion to table--the bill was a “referendum on gay marriage” and “the measure would not be brought up again this session.”

While this marks the third time in four years that the issue of same-sex marriage has been taken up in the legislature it is the first time that proponents of equality won on a straight up-down vote. This also marks the first time that Sens. Mary Jo White (R-21) and Lisa Boscola (D-18) voted against a bill that would have led to a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Though a state law passed in 1996 currently prevents same-sex marriages, those in favor of the resolution had expressed concern that a lawsuit might be able to overturn the law unless a ban was written into the constitution. Equality Pennsylvania’s Mason Lane said that there was “no legal case waiting to challenge the state law.” 

The only current avenue of achieving marriage equality in Pennsylvania would be Senator Daylin Leach’s SB 935, which currently has only a single co-sponsor. 

We’ll continue to keep you posted on news of marriage equality in Pennsylvania.

March 2010 E-Newsletter

This is a copy of our March 2010 E-Newsletter.  In addition to updates on events, functions, and action alerts, our monthly e-newsletter is delivered via e-mail to more than 20,000 supporters, friends, and activists.  To sign up to receive e-updates from Equality Pennsylvania click HERE (or copy and paste the following link into your web browser: http://eqfed.org/center4civilrights/join.html?r=U7se5ndaQEB3E).

 

In this Issue:

1.  PA Superior Court delivers WIN to LGBT Pennsylvanians!

2.  Update on Managing Director Jake Kaskey

3.  We're opening a Harrisburg office next month! Support our partner organization who made this possible!

4.  We'll be in Harrisburg this weekend for the TransCentralPA Second Annual Keystone Conference, will YOU be there?

5.  TAKE ACTION - Help pass LGBT-inclusive Hate Crimes legislation

6.  Dialing for Equality:  March phone-banks

7.  Attend our workshop at Drexel University on March 30!

  

 

PA Superior Court grants custody rights to LGBT parents in Pennsylvania:  On February 25, in a 7-1 decision, the PA Superior Court issued an opinion that overturned 25 years of precedent in which homsexual relationships were deemed to have an "adverse effect on [a] child" in custody cases.  The decision by the state Superior Court reflects the progression of child custody laws in Pennsylvania, as attitudes and sentiments toward LGBT issues begins to become more favorable.   

For a link to an article about the decision in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette click HERE. 

  

Jake Kaskey on medical leave, nationwide search for permanent Executive Director well underway:  As many of you are already aware, Managing Director Jake Kaskey was hospitalized for several weeks in late January and early February.  Thankfully, he is now at home with friends and family recovering, but the process will take some time.  We wish him a full and speedy recovery and cannot wait to see him back to working the halls of the State Capitol for full equality!

A nation-wide search for a full-time, permanent Executive Director is underway and a state-wide search committee has already begun reviewing applications.  We hope to have the position filled soon.

Click HERE to view the job posting and position description.

We're opening a Harrisburg office thanks to The LGBT Community Center Coalition of Central PA:  Please consider supporting our friends at our partner organization, The LGBT Community Center Coalition of Central PA.  With their help and support, we will be opening a Harrisburg office next month. 

Are you looking to do some good?  If so, then here’s your chance. 

Equality PA is committed to helping all of Pennsylvania's LGBT organizations thrive and grow, so we are proud to showcase our partner organization in Central PA, The LGBT Community Center Coalition.  Dedicated to finding common ground for ALL the LGBT Citizens who live and work throughout the eight midstate counties the Center represents, their mission is grass-roots driven and equality-powered and it relies heavily on the generosity of the public.  They are producing terrific programming for adults and youth on a shoestring budget and have become a leading advocate for LGBT rights and visibility in an area that doesn’t always welcome dialogue on gay issues.  Their dedication to our cause makes it easy for Equality PA to encourage you to make a donation, and they can be sent to: 

The LGBT Community Center Coalition of Central PA

221 North Front Street 

Harrisburg, PA 17101

OR visit www.centralpalgbtcenter.org to make an online donation

For more information: (717) 920-9534

We'll be attending the Second Annual Keystone Conference, "A Celebration of Gender Diversity" hosted by TransCentralPA the weekend of March 12:  We will be participating in a workshop at the Keystone Conference on legal advocacy relating to name change and other identity documentation issues facing Pennsylvania's transgender community.  Attendees of the conference will find three full days of varied and meaningful workshops and seminars and three nights of social functions, the finale being Saturday night’s gala dinner and dance in the Sheraton’s resplendent ballroom.

For more information about the conference click HERE.

  

TAKE ACTION - Help Pass LGBT-Inclusive Hate Crimes Legislation:  Thanks to you, late last year, House Bill 745, an LGBT-inclusive Hate Crimes bill passed the PA House Judiciary Committee with massive bipartisan support in an 18-8 vote. We expect the entire Pennsylvania House of Representatives to vote on this legislation in the near future, so now is the time to ask your representatives to vote for this important bill. HB 745 would amend the Title 18 Ethnic Intimidations Act to define crimes against individuals based on “actual or perceived ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity” as ethnic intimidation, or hate crimes.

To access the Action Alert and send a letter to your representative, click HERE.

Dialing for Equality: come to our March phone-banks on Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 24:  Already sent a letter to your Representative?  Want to further advocate for equality?

Then join us on Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 24 in calling our supporters across the Commonwealth and asking them to contact their legislators. Phone-Banking is very fun, very easy, and is a great way to get involved in the fight for full equality for LGBT Pennsylvanians.  We'll be meeting from 6:00-8:00pm in our Philadelphia office at 1211 Chestnut Street, Suite 605.  For more information, or to RSVP e-mail Mason (mlane@equalitypa.org) or click HERE.

Learn about the current state of LGBT rights in the U.S. and Pennsylvania at Drexel University on March 30:  Representatives from EqualityPA will be conducting a workshop at Drexel University with members of the Foundation of Undergraduates for Sexual Equality (FUSE), Drexel's undergraduate LGBT organization.  The workshop will focus on the current state of LGBT rights both at the federal and state levels.  In addition to an overview of the current political landscape, participants will also discuss and explore different ways to catalyze change both on a national scale and back home in their communities.  Keep an eye out for further updates as the time and location are still TBA.

Equality Pennsylvania's mission is to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Pennsylvania through coalition-building, advocacy, education and policy reform.