Courtesy of the Value All Families Coalition and Equality Advocates Pennsylvania...

(Harrisburg, PA) ?Legislation prohibiting discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in housing, employment, and public accommodations was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives today. A press conference was held in the capitol to announce the bill?s introduction.

 The bill, HB 1400, was co-sponsored by a record 70 members of the House. Similar legislation, SB761, was introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate in April with a record number of 22 co-sponsors. The Senate bill has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House bill is expected to go to the House State Government Committee where it has been assigned in the past.

 The Value All Families Coalition worked with legislative allies to gather support for this amendment to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Alleghany) and Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh, Monroe, Northhampton), the prime sponsors of the House and Senate versions of the bill, spoke about the importance of this non-discrimination legislation in Pennsylvania. Rep. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia), the Chair of the House State Government Committee, addressed the need for education and hearings on this issue.

 ?This legislation is critical to thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pennsylvanians who are trying to work and have a roof over their heads. I urge the legislature to move this legislation forward. It is needed. It is fair. It is time,? said Stacey Sobel, executive director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania.

 Current Pennsylvania law provides basic legal protection against discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, handicap or disability, education and the use of a guide dog.Thirteen Pennsylvania municipalities have already enacted civil rights laws including protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. These municipalities are Allentown, Easton, Erie County, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lansdowne, New Hope, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Swarthmore, West Chester and York. State College also has an ordinance that only covers sexual orientation discrimination in housing. Approximately, seventy-five percent of the state?s twelve million residents live or work in communities that do not provide these protections. Twenty states in the country have similar laws, including our neighboring states of New Jersey, Maryland and New York.

In response, the fundie wing-nuts at the American Family Association of Pennsylvania have released their unique brand of hate-laced made up shit.

Homosexuals are once again pulling the victim card and trying to seek the normalization of their destructive lifestyle.  They have never been required to sit in the back of the bus or drink from designated water fountains.  Furthermore they have never been denied the right to vote or considered less than human as African Americans once were.  Homosexuals want special rights simply because of the sexual activity in which they engage, noted Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA. 

Well, Diane, its good that you so tidily sum up hundreds of years of civil rights struggles in a few sentences.  Why everything is just fine and dandy for your average Pennsylvanian African-American.  Your "message" clearly shows that you have no clue what life is like in the Commonwealth's African-American community and shame on you for hoisting that flag for your own agenda of hate. 

Stand up to the hate spewed in the name of Jesus.  Contact your House Rep and State Senator today. 

The Post-Gazette reports that as part of our city's 250th anniversary, we'll be host to the "World's Largest Wedding Vow Renewal" in February, 2008.  Organizers hope to attract 1,000 wedded couples to renew their vows.  Why?

Two of the themes of the 250th celebration are attracting reunions and homecomings to the city and underscoring family and community ties. Getting a thousand couples to reaffirm their vows is a way to do both.

"It's something that comes straight out of the word 're-union.' I was surprised no one had thought of it already," said Kitty Julian, marketing director of Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, who came up with the idea. "Pittsburgh is all about love of family, tradition, nostalgia ... This is exactly in that neighborhood."

Something about the phrase "straight out of the word 'reunion'" got me thinking -- would event organizers welcome LGBT couples who are legally married, albeit not in Pennsylvania?  Would they recognize couples who are domestic partnered and civil unioned?  So I dropped Ms. Julian a line to find out. 

Turns out, they will!  Here's what she had to say via email:

Wedding vow renewal isn't a legal event, but is a celebration of love
and family. We'd be honored to have LGBT couples participate. Since this
is a Guinness World Record breaking attempt we are following their
requirement that, "all couples must provide a copy of their original
marriage certificate." They don't seem to specify that it must be from a
specific state. So, as long as people have such a certificate, and
pre-register they are in! I don't know what Guinnness says about civil
unions or even if one gets a certificate in that situation, but we'll
contact them to find out, and will report back what we learn.

So that means all you crazy gay couples who married in Canada, Massachusettes, Europe and beyond ... you get to participate.  Does anyone who has been civil unioned know about the certificate thing? 

After the Guinness ceremony, there will apparently be a mass blessing (no pun intended) led by leaders from multiple local faith communities.  Now that could get interesting...

The date of the ceremony is Sunday, Feb. 10. Those wishing to preliminarily register for the event may contact Carnegie Museums marketing assistant Leigh Kish at 412-578-2571 or kishl@carnegiemuseums.org.

Luke Ravenstahl acted like a fool and lied to the public.  Sad, but predictable.  Hundreds of words have piled up around the Burghosphere calling him to task for his shameless disregard for truth (and his job). 

Meanwhile, five children in Larimer were killed in a horrible house fire.  Someone blamed a non-existent teenage babysitter.  Now it appears as if the two mothers of the children left them home alone.  Actually, they left seven children under the age of eight home alone.  The oldest two escaped and had to witness their siblings' screams and pleas for help, a memory they'll carry with them to the grave.  Police believe these two boys were playing with matches, another thing that will haunt them. 

No arrest.  Yet.  But well-known criminal defense attorney Jim Ecker is on the scene, representing one of the mothers. (Ledcat called that one last night). 

Is this political?  Does the intersection of race and poverty have anything to do with this horrific tragedy or can we simply lay it at the feet of two African-American women and call it a day?  We have no way to know until more information comes to light.  But I'm saying that a 25 year old mother of four and 20-something mother of three need some support to parent well under the best of circumstances.  What kind of supports did these women have that they chose to leave their children alone?  What kind of supports even exist in Larimer?  Last time I checked, no retired Steelers are building restaurants in Larimer.  Last time I checked, East Liberty morphed up into Eastside. Last time I checked, the agencies who came to a local community event brought abstinence brochures while the Army seduced kids with personalized dog tags. 

It may not be sexy political like Luke chasing after Tiger Woods or Bill Peduto taking on self-styled anarchists.  But five African-American children died in one of the worst fires in Pittsburgh's history in one of the region's poorest neighborhoods.  It deserves some attention.  The political future of Pittsburgh is as much tied up in the lives and deaths of these five children as in Luke Ravenstahl's dereliction of his duty.

Those children, all of region's most vulnerable children, need someone to hold the higher ups accountable for their welfare and their lives.

Bloggers, where for art thou?

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UPDATE:   One Pittsburgh blogger covered this story.  Her name is PittGirl and she is a self proclaimed non-political blogger.  Still, she captured a moment of the underlying human aspect.