I wrote this piece for Lez Get Real which includes the official statement from Chick-Fil-A corporate along with my analysis of what this whole sordid mess means for Pennsylvania. Thanks to Lez Get Real for the chance to bring a national audience to a regional/statewide issue.
The story has gone viral and generated a lot of folks ire. On my Facebook page alone, over a dozen friends spontaneously pledged to walk away from their love of the pickle/chicken combo to show solidarity with the LGBT community. And those are local dollars. That's pressure on the local franchises to pay close attention when and if Metcalfe introduces his amendment.
So surf on over for the gory details and see what kind of impact a stupid decision on the part of one little franchise can have on the movement for equality. And call your State Rep!
Bram Reichbaum from The Pittsburgh Comet alerted me to an exchange between City Councilors Bruce Kraus and Ricky Burgess during the pension plan bailout meetings.
Kraus: "I am neither a Republican, a racist nor am I rich." Points out that Burgess never has supported gay lesbian & transgendered legislation and so doesn't want to hear implications of such out of him, and wants the Clerk to look up the record so he can read it tonight. "Speak about that, Rev. Burgess."
Burgess: "I am sorry that Mr. Kraus is upset about my conversations about poor and low-income families." Says not attacking personally. Thinks he's been consistent supporting equal rights.
Having worked in Reverend Burgess' district for nearly five years, I can state unequivocally that LGBTQ families and inviduals live there. I am equally comfortable stating that there are many low income, working class LGBTQ families among them. Reverend Burgess likes to posture himself as the defender of the oppressed, but only certain oppressions fit under the umbrella.
I believe Bruce Kraus is right and that Burgess has NOT consistently supported equal rights. I used to think capitulation to his base was acceptable, but not when he uses gay stereotypes to isolate the courageously openly gay member of Council. Burgess won't even sign on to support PrideFest. He would not co-sponsor legislation in support of HB 300, only agreeing to vote for it. He clearly wants to have it both ways --- warrior for equal rights, but only so equal.
What the hell this had to do with the penion plan is anybody's guess but kudos to Bruce for calling Burgess on the carpet for his hypocrisy. The homophobia on Grant Street is rampant and we need more champions to call it out, especially when it is tossed around for filler during a filibuster. I think the gays should continue to call out men like Burgess whose hypocrisy contributes to the isolation and alienation of LGBTQ folks living in his district and throughout the City.
Allentown may soon become the first municipality in the Lehigh Valley to offer medical benefits to partners of gay employees, whether active or retired.
Under a domestic partnership bill before council, partners of gay employees would be eligible for health benefits as long as the couple can illustrate they live together and are jointly responsible for household finances.
Many private companies and institutions in the Lehigh Valley, such as Muhlenberg College and The Morning Call, offer similar benefits, as does the city of Philadelphia.
It appears it might make headway with some support from the local council and a sort of generalish "no comment" from the Mayor
The bill, introduced on Dec. 15 and slated for a final vote as early as next month, has broad support among council members, who say gay couples deserve the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts.
"This is about fairness and equality," said council President Michael D'Amore, one of the driving forces behind the bill. "Gay employees' inability to get married in this state should not preclude them from getting health benefits."
Mayor Ed Pawlowski has yet to reveal his position on the measure, saying it's "under review."
This is the argument I've made over and over with regard to Allegheny County. There are hard-working public servants who are treated like second-class citizens by our County government simply because they are gay. What's worse is that government is the bastion of health enforcement through the County Health Department so they should be setting the bar high, not cowering behind labor-management relations as a cover for a failure to act.
Unfortunately, LGBTQ persons will still be held to a higher standard of proof than heterosexual couples, many of whom are not even required to produce a marriage license for some employers.
In order to qualify for the benefits, the employee and partner must provide the city with at least three documents that show that they are living together and are jointly responsible for basic living expenses. Acceptable documents include mortgages, leases, utility bills and joint bank accounts, according to the bill.
This is a sore spot with me. It can be challening to meet these criteria, based on the ignorance of the utility companies or simply the frustrating number of hurdles. Verizon told me they had to actually literally disconnect all of our services, open a new account, CHARGE US to keep our number and come out to the house to get the DSL reconnected. That's a lot of inconvenience (and expense) to meet a standard.
I think one form of proof and a sworn affidavit is more reasonable. Yes, it will be abused just like heterosexual couples abuse marital benefits every day in much, much greater numbers.
Still, it is progress for Allentown. Here's hoping Allentown's leadership inspires Allegheny County.
Hmm ... I missed this yesterday in the Post-Gazette.
HARRISBURG -- Although his years-long crusade to enact a statewide ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity again died at the end of the most recent legislative session, state Rep. Dan Frankel sees reason for optimism.
Frankel's optimism stems from the long-term view (useful in politics, eh) that our cultural view toward LGBTQ people, families and issues has shifted. Not IS. Not WILL. It has shifted and the polling data shows that. See my little riend's pronouncement that Ledcat and I cannot marry "stupid" She'll be voting in four Presidential cycles. That my friends is the long-term view.
The piece goes on to explore how state level inaction has generated much hubbub at the local level. 18 locals. It has also fed into the hatefest such as in Lancaster which disbanded the Human Relations Commission to save money. Really? I'm sure the African-American residents feel real good that their experiences with housing discrimination got axed to save money. Nice.
I can't resist posting this quote.
"It creates a policy, a public policy, and it puts those who disagree with that policy in the same footing as those who are, say, racial bigots," said Randall Wenger, lawyer for the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Family Institute, which lobbied against Mr. Frankel's bill.
"We call certain choices discrimination because we, collectively, as a people, determine that certain choices are downright bad, they're downright evil," Mr. Wenger said. "I think recently, with the additional of sexual orientation and gender identity, they are choices people make precisely because they are the moral choices they want to make."
Umm. I think there was a time when "certain choices" like owning people was Biblically sanctioned, not evil. What would Mr. Wenger have argued if that point were brought up? Is it the "calling" of choices discrimination that make them evil because that sounds a lot like moral relativism, not so much grounded in moral certainties. He uses the term CHOICE four times in this quote which must simply be to downplay that people don't HATE gays, they just choose not to hire them. It is a lifestyle choice not to associate with gay people, but it is just a matter of housing patterns that mean no black people live in your cul-de-sac. Hmmm.
It hasn't taken long for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell to galvanize advocates and increase pressure (probably on both ends to be fair)
Stephen A. Glassman, chairman of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, said cost concerns can be overblown and have to be balanced against the cost of not actively dealing with discrimination complaints.
"If you can repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' at the federal level, you ought to at least be able to protect people's jobs and housing in the state of Pennsylvania," Mr. Glassman said.
I wonder if Tom Corbett will keep Stephen Glassman as chair? That will be telling.
I'm glad the discussion isn't around marriage. We have to use building blocks. We need to look inward at Western PA and focus on elections as well as hold our current electeds to some standard of doing something. It is not 2009. We need to move on and see something happening.
I'm going to go watch some lady slather honey on a ham.
Hatboro Mayor Norm Hawkes vetoed a measure Monday night that would have established a borough commission to review prejudice claims - a step advocates argued was necessary to extend protection to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people not currently shielded under state law.
Lower Merion commissioners are expected to approve a similar measure at a special meeting Wednesday night.
"I don't feel anyone should be discriminated against anyplace or anywhere," Hawkes said Tuesday. "But I think this is much better handled on a state vs. local level."
Across Pennsylvania, 17 municipalities - including Philadelphia, West Chester, State College, and Doylestown - have enacted ordinances prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity. At least 11 more, such as Radnor and Haverford, have measures pending before their governing bodies.
While the proposals protect all minority groups, pressure to pass them has come largely from the LGBT community, which says its members are left unprotected by state and federal statutes.
The Mayor of Hatboro thinks it is best left to the state rather than local volunteers (??). Hatboro Council is mustering forces to overturn the veto. To lend your supportive voice, contact them.Share your story.
But look at those numbers (and this is mainstream media). 17 municipalities + 11 more. That's a lot of Pennsylvania and, clearly, a lot of activism on the part of gays on the ground.
My sources tell me that national organizations have been on the ground in Eastern PA working on these initiatives. I'm not sure if the same is true in Western PA. I'm not saying it isn't, but we don't have the sort of news outlets necessary to get this information. Note that my original story comes from the mainstream Philly Inquirer. Yet here in Pittsburgh, we struggle to access mainstream resources because the Post-Gazette cannot get its technology sorted out.
It is amazing to see what gays are accomplishing and even better that mainstream media in Eastern Pennsylvania are producing informed, thoughtful pieces on these accompishments. They don't even need the rabble rousing bloggers :-)
Well ... where to begin. At last count, I have 600 email messages about DADT in my box and reading through them is dizzying.
The Pentagon study endorsed the repeal of DADT, finding that 70 of enlisted mend women essentially see no negative impact. 70 percent. The Pentagon recognizes that repeal decisions from the courts are inevitable and a legislative repeal is the best way to maintain control over the situation.
OK. Seems pretty straightforward.
Nope. Repeal got all caught up in the ensuing debate over tax repeal and did not pass. DADT was part of the defense reauthorization bill which as a spending bill was part of the larger debate on finances. Some analyze the political bungling. Stand alone repeal bills have now been introduced.
So now we wait.
BTW, West Virginia's Senator Manchin was the only D to abandon ship b/c he still thinks there needs to be more time to explore implementation. Oh, and he needs to talk to West Virginians. Manchin is just like the Western PA Republicans in Democrats clothing. Only he has pretty hair. Beware.
In the Pittsburgh area, more than three-quarters of the poor population now live in the suburbs.
In the decade since the turn of the century, "The number of poor in the suburbs has grown by more than twice the rate than in the cities," said Elizabeth Kneebone, a senior research associate at the Brookings Institution.
A critical issue is getting the word out to folks that there are programs to help them now, not after their straights are even more dire.
In significant LGBT news, Gene Robinson, the first only gay Episcopal Bishop will retire in 2013.
The reason to depart, he said in a speech delivered at the close of the annual convention of his diocese, is that being at the center of an international uproar has taken a toll on him and on the diocese.
"Death threats, and the now worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as bishop, have been a constant strain, not just on me, but on my beloved husband, Mark" and on Episcopalians in the state, he said.
But those who know Bishop Robinson say he has no intention of retiring from public life. His status as a symbol in the international gay rights movement means that after he steps down, he will have no shortage of platforms from which to preach his message that God blesses gay relationships too. (Through a spokesman, he declined interview requests.)
One can only imagine the toll this has taken on everyone. While the world has not ended, hate mongerers like Archbishop Peter Akinola and Pittsburgh's own Bishop Duncan have used this to enhance their power and status at what appears to be great cost to the very people they profess to serve. How sad.
I haven't heard a lot from the local LGBT politicos since they were thrashed last week. We were thrashed, I should say, because I was in that mix.
Ah well ... I did read today that Senator-Elect Toomey is going to align with the Tea Party. I believe Jason Altmore and Mark Critz are financing 2012 with Nancy Pelosi pin cushion dolls (not endorsed by Christine ODonnell).
LGBT champion, State Representative Dan Frankel penned a letter to the Post-Gazette urging Western Pennsylvania to support Onorato because he's the better choice on LGBT issues. The cruz of his arguement is that Corbett thinks existing anti-discrimination protections on the statewide level are fine and has no intention of expanding them. Onorato has stated he will support the expansion to include LGBT folks.
In contrast, at the same debate, Dan Onorato said of H.B. 300, "As governor, I would sign it into law. ... No one should lose their apartment or their job or their home because of their sexual identity or their orientation."
As chief executive of Allegheny County, Mr. Onorato signed a similar nondiscrimination law that protects the county's 1.2 million residents. As governor, Dan Onorato will be committed to fairness for all Pennsylvanians, which is also vital for fighting brain drain and for our economic competitiveness.
So if Corbett (and the tea bagger commenters) think all is well, that's clearly wrong and dangerous. However, as wit most Democrats, I believe Frankel oversells Onorato. It took many, many months for him to make a public announcement supporting the Allegheny County legislation. He has a voting record of opposing these protections when he was a City Councilman. That's not exactly a mindblowing change of position. It is incremental and it took nearly twenty years to happen. (Don't forget he lost his cool at an endorsement meeting b/c a certain lesbian blog published his voting record. Ahem.)
I'm just saying that Onorato's track record AT BEST says he won't stand in the way, but there's no public evidence that he'll work to advance HB 300 or similar legislation. We simply have to take his word for it.
And truth be told, when you think of all the promises President Obama actually made to the gay community and has yet to work on, there's just no evidence that the Governor of Pennsylvania will do any better. Obama had significant majorities and poll data to prove that repealing DADT was fine, yet he's actually got the Department of Justice fighting to defend it. Groan.
My point is that the Governor won't have majorities in both chambers, regardless of who wins. The Senate still wants to defend marriage from gay people. The House just hasn't had the muscle to push HB 300 through.
What we need is to unify as a community and put the pressure on Onorato to make this happen. And I don't think he has the political will or muscle to do it. He needs our votes and fundraisers on Mt. Washington, but he knows we'll be forced to support him.
Frankel's point is short, sweet and to the point. Onorato is the only chance to expand civil protections. I get that, but I'll be a believer when I see some public action. More behind the scenes machinations with the elite white gay men on Pennsylvania won't cut it with the suburban soccer mom lesbians and the many, many unemployer and underemployed LGBT folks who face a stagnant economony and the legal realities of being fired for being gay.
I think Onorato needs our votes b/c Pennsylvania would be better if this legislation passed. But I also believe a full court press for him to ante up on this issue is necessary.
How about that? I think Onorato is like Obama and man that just blows my mind.
I got nothing. You can vote Team Democrat and hope for the best. Or you can vote for the best commercial. Or the candidates least likely to have to defend themselves from being labeled a witch.
I tried to write a thoughtful analysis, but the only person I have any respect for is Joe Sestak. Well, I do like Pat Murphy but he doesn't live here and most of you do.
I say go with the Democrats even though a lot of them suck on LGBT issues and will probably contribute to the Obama Administration complete failure to lead. Yeah, we'll get a few more crumbs. But, frankly, Onorato's lackluster do nothing attitude toward providing health insurance for his current employees (aka domestic partner benefits) does not bode well for him to develop a spine in the next four years. Let's hope Dan Frankel and Daylin Leach can beat back the Christian whackos for awhile and someone else emerges in 2014.
You know what I feel like? The woman who thinks Charlie Batch is the best human being on the entire team and yet has to sit back and watch the most horrible excuse for a man get all the glory. Does that seem like the American way?
