The horrific bashing of a gay couple in Philadelphia by a mob of men and women has been well covered here, particularly by librarisingnsf, mconvente, and Jen Hayden. If you're not familiar with the case, please visit the links to get caught up.
Today, in response to the hate crime--which, under Pennsylvania law, is not technically a hate crime--lawmakers and supporters rallied at the capitol in Harrisburg to push for legislation to add protections for LGBT people to existing state hate crimes law. The Ethnic Intimidation Act currently on the books protects race, color, national origin, and religion, but not sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2002, the law was amended to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and physical/mental disability as protected categories, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed the amendment in 2008 on procedural grounds. LGBT people remain unprotected in every way except marriage in the state of Pennsylvania. While the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 extends federal hate crimes protections to LGBT people, the high-profile gay-bashing in Philadelphia has refocused attention on stalled legislation in Harrisburg and underscored the need for state-level protections.
Led by Democratic Representatives Brendan Boyle and (openly gay) Brian Sims and Senator Larry Farnese, there are renewed efforts to pass LGBT-inclusive protections as early as this legislative session. While Sims has not been optimistic about passage this session (which is in its final days) and has been making plans to bring hate crime victims to Harrisburg to testify next year, Boyle is more hopeful, even claiming to have potential support from some Republicans:
It has been a year-and-a-half since I introduced it, and the Republican leadership has shown no willingness to move any piece of legislation that touches sexual orientation. But in the wake of this event, there's a better chance of it happening now than months from now, when this issue will have receded from the news.
The rally and press conference today organized by Boyle, Sims, and Farnese aimed to keep the issue in the spotlight and ramp up pressure on Republican leadership to pass Senate Bill 42 and House Bill 177. It featured some interesting moments. For starters, Jim Ferlo, the State Senator from Pittsburgh who drafted the Senate legislation, became Pennsylvania's newest openly gay legislator. Although his sexuality has been something of an open secret, Ferlo's formal announcement is notable:
Hundreds of people know I'm gay. I just never made an official declaration. I never felt I had to wear a billboard on my forehead. But I'm gay. Get over it. I love it. It's a great life.
More on the rally:
State Senator Larry Farnese of Philadelphia says the fact that there are only a few days left before the end of the current legislative session is no excuse to keep Senate Bill 42 from getting passed.
Farnese said a press conference this morning, "We can do a separate session or a special session on booze, we'll do a special session on pensions. Why can't we do a special session on equality?"
Good question.
These lawmakers held a rally shortly after sending a letter to Senator Stewart Greenleaf of Willow Grove, who is chairman of the judiciary committee, calling for the speedy passage of the bill in light of the recent attack against a gay couple in Center City Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, Sims had some fiery words for the Republican leadership in the legislature. You need to watch the video, but I've also included a transcript:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. I'm sitting here listening to all of us talk about LGBT, and I say LGBT a lot. And I think sometimes I say it to be palatable. But I want to say it, and I want to say it here very loudly: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender! Because there is no place in Pennsylvania where people are pretending that we don't exist more than they are here in the capitol. This state doesn't offer a single statewide LGBT civil right to people like me other than marriage, and that's ridiculous. And what happens is attacks like this. On people like me, in my neighborhood. Don't let anyone tell you we only have six or seven days left in session. That's B.S. We're a full-time legislature. We're in session until November 30. We've got sixty-some odd days left in session, and if we can't pass a law like this to protect basic citizens in their home, then we're not doing our job and we're not a full-time legislature. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender! Get used to it. There's a million of us in this state, and we deserve the same rights and the same protections as everybody else.
So much amen to this. More calls for action at the rally
from Farnese's office:
“The despicable tragedy in Philadelphia shines a sad light on the lack of an LGBT-inclusion hate crime law in Pennsylvania. We need to pass legislation now so that there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that a hate crime based on someone’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression will not be tolerated in Pennsylvania,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) and LGBT Equality Caucus Co-Chairman.
“A society that needs this legislation is not a society we should be proud of,” said State Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware) and LGBT Equality Caucus Co-Chairman. “Enactment of this legislation will not be cause for celebration, but a signal of the work left undone. We must create a community that ensures the safety of all of our friends, families and neighbors.”
“Hate crimes can often be far more violent than typical crimes with the intent to dehumanize the victims. By grading these offenses more strictly I hope that we can further discourage crimes based on hate. I have introduced legislation to reenact Act 143 of 2002 since 2007, and I am hopeful that we can make this necessary progress before the end of the legislative session,” said Sen. Jim Ferlo.
In the meantime, Republican Governor Tom Corbett
has refused to express support for LGBT hate crimes protections. Big fucking surprise.
“In the wake of the crime in Philadelphia, the governor condemns the attack and crimes based on discrimination,” Corbett spokesman Jay Pagni said. “Without addressing the language in specific legislation, the governor condemns discrimination and crimes resulting from discrimination whether that discrimination be based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. Again, the governor condemns the attack.” However, the spokesman would not say whether Corbett, a Republican who faces a tough re-election fight this November, supports the bill Democratic state lawmakers are urgently seeking to pass in the few remaining days of session this year that would expand the state’s hate crimes law to view crimes committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, among other reasons, as more severe.
It should be noted that Corbett's Democratic opponent for the governorship, Tom Wolf,
fully supports LGBT-inclusive hate crimes protections.
Now, all eyes on Harrisburg to see what the legislature will do. If you're in Pennsylvania, you might want to put pressure on your legislators.