Just received a call to action from the Steel-City Stonewall Democrats.  As you may recall, legislation has been introduced on the county level which would expand civil protections with regard to housing, employment and public accomodations to include the classes of sexual orientation and gender identity.  This is an important step for our region toward achieving equality for all residents. 

Without this legislation, it remains perfectly legal for a landlord in Monroeville to refuse to rent to a lesbian couple.  It remains legal for a restaurant owner in Bethel Park  to refuse service to gay men.  It is legal for an employer in McCandless to fire someone just for being gay. 

The chance to make an impact is nigh:

Allegheny County Council is considering an ordinance that would prohibit discrimination in Employment, Housing and Public Accommodations based on characteristics including sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. 

 

The Council has, so far, been very interested in moving this non-discrimination ordinance forward.  Twelve (out of 15) Council members have signed on as co-sponsors!  One of Council?s next steps is to approve funding for the ordinance. Specifically, the County will have to hire folks to educate the public, to investigate complaints, and to prosecute violations of the ordinance.  The Council's Government Committee will be discussing the ordinance next Tuesday.

This isn't a feel good resolution expressing the will of the Council.  It needs to have some funding to give it teeth.  My partner Ledcat, as you may recall, is an investigator and can attest to the need to ensure that qualified people are hired -- outside of the ken of politics -- to protect the interest of the residents of the County.  This is a critical step in the process. 

The meeting is Tuesday at 5 PM.  Can you attend?  Perhaps not. It is a holiday week and you do have jobs.  One thing you can do is make a telephone call or send an email to your County Council Rep (and the two at large reps).  Those details are below:

Please contact your County Councilperson to thank him or her for supporting this ordinance.  Encourage your Councilperson to continue moving the legislation forward.  

 

You can look up your County Council District by following this link:

http://www.alleghenycounty.us/council/dist.aspx

 

Sponsors:

Matt Drozd, Dist. 1

412.350.6525

 

Jim Burn, Dist. 3

412.350.6535

 

Michael Finnerty, Dist. 4

412.350.6540

 

Joan Cleary, Dist. 6

412.350.6550

 

Nick Futules, Dist. 7

412.350.6555

 

Chuck Martoni, Dist. 8

412.350.6560

 

Bob Macey, Dist. 9

412.350.6565

 

William Russell Robinson, Dist. 10

412.350.6570

 

Rich Fitzgerald, Dist. 11

412.350.6575

 

Jim Ellenbogen, Dist. 12

412.350.6580

 

Amanda Green (lead sponsor), Dist. 13

412.350.6585

 

John DeFazio, Council At-Large

412.350.6516

 

 

In case you wish to encourage the non-sponsors to become co-sponsors, here is their contact information:

 

Chuck McCollough, Council At-Large

412.350.6520

 

Jan Rea, District 2

412.350.6530

 

Vince Gastgeb, District 5

412.350.6545

 

 

(Councilmembers ?at-large? are elected county-wide and represent all residents of Allegheny County.)

 

 

In case you would like to attend: the Government Committee of the Allegheny County Council will be meeting this Tuesday, November 25, at 5:00pm to discuss this legislation.  The location is

436 Grant St., County Courthouse Rm. 119, Conference Rm. 1.  At this type of Committee meeting there is not the opportunity for public comment, but the public is welcome to attend, and you would be supporting the legislation with your presence.

Be sure to read this piece from the Post-Gazette Saturday diary:

In this miracle we call America, my own life is a testament to promises made, and kept.

I studied and worked hard. I have a good job. I worked in Congress for a well-known senator as the Reagan revolution began, one of only a handful of black Senate staffers at the time.

None of the blessings I've enjoyed would have been possible had it not been for those whose blood was spilled in Alabama in that summer of 1963.

Now, as a gay African American, a proud father and, I hope, a minister some day, I stand second to none when it comes to having pride in my country and what it has achieved. Mr. Obama's election reminded me of that.

The promise that now lives in me has been passed on to my children -- my beautiful "rainbow" sons -- two of them African American, one Puerto Rican and one Irish.

This week has been filled with much turmoil in the LGBTQ community as we struggle to reconcile the hope of an Obama presidency with the voter support of four anti-gay constitutional amendments.  Bigotry has reared its ugly head along with ignorance, good intentions and enough blame to go around and around.  At one point, I had to stop reading my email because the finger-pointing is just too much. 

Sadly, there has been no online discussion on the local level.  The local LGBTQ advocates have issued no statements or email messages or anything of that sort.  There has been no calls to action or invitations to reflect on how we -- the collective we -- can move forward. I haven't really seen this level of analysis in the other local blogs.  

Which is better?  To remain mum or to expose the ugly face of racism in the queer community?  It is great that Melissa Etheridge isn't going to pay California State taxes.  That'll show 'em.  And people are boycotting Rosie's family cruises b/c she didn't ante up.  Wow.  I shouldn't be so dismissive of people working through their anger and frustration, but the lack of self-awareness on the collision of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation is sad.

We are fortunate that men like Don step foward to proudly claim all of their cultural identity and remind us that our community is diverse.  Period.  We have to come to terms with that and find a way to build bridges with constituencies that might support a statewide marriage amendment.  We have to make sure the Don Hammonds of the region are sitting at the table when we talk with the Ricky Burgesses of the region.  Not that Reverend Burgess is a bigot, but he is opposed to gay marriage and we have to be willing as a community to enter that uncomfortable territory to dialogue around these issues and find our common ground. 

Do we have what it takes?