City Council to Consider Changes to Domestic Partner Registry

Today I got word that City Councilor Bruce Kraus is introducing legislation to amend the City Code around the Domestic Partner Registry:   Bill No. 2013-1772  Ordinance amending the Pittsburgh Code, Title One, Administrative, Article XI: Personnel, Chapter 186: Domestic Partnership and Common Law Spouse Benefits, by adding language in Section 186.04: Requirements for Mutual Commitment Registry. […]

Five Ways To Make Labor Day More Meaningful to the Average Person

Labor Day was officially established by Congress in 1894.  I’ve been thinking about its relevancy in today’s world – how does the FOP and the SEIU and Wal-Mart and UPMC tie together? So here are my thoughts on how Labor itself can help me understand.   First, educate us. I’d love to attend a Labor […]

Two Big Federal Wins for Marriage Equality

Thursday brought news of two significant rules that will have an immediate impact on LGBTQ families. First, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a ruling on Medicare: Gay married couples are now eligible for nursing home care through Medicare-funded private insurance in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision against the Defense of […]

Here’s What We Need To Do About HB 300

From the  City Paper (excellent analysis btw):   But the bill might at least get a hearing — and that “is critically important,” Sims says. “We haven’t had people testifying before us about the impact of discrimination, saying, ‘You’re telling me I’ve lived and worked here my whole life, but I’m not treated equally?’” Metcalfe […]

Update or Not

Lawyers have been consulted. The City remains mum. Wait til they hear our counteroffer. Ha.

Has the City of Pittsburgh Lost The Domestic Partner Registry?

What a ridiculous question. How can you lose a registry? So a few days ago, we were informed that we have less than 5 weeks to comply with an “employee dependent verification” audit conducted by a third party contracted through the City (City Council and the Mayor approved of this, unanimously.) These audits are used […]

WESA 90.5 Discusses HB 300 and Non-Discrimination Laws

Earlier in the week, Essential Pittsburgh spoke with State Representative Dan Frankel about HB 300 which would amend the state non-discrimination law to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. 22 states currently have protections for individuals based upon their sexual orientation, including most of the states surrounding Pennsylvania. Frankel says this makes the […]

Infographic: The Anti-Gay World via BuzzFeed

via BuzzFeed 

LGBTQ Family Law in PA “Total Chaos” Plus Advice from Dear Abby

From the Post-Gazette An audience member asked whether it was true that same-sex couples could file a joint return in a state like Massachusetts but couldn’t do so in Pennsylvania. The panel uniformly answered yes. “It’s total chaos,” said Tiffany Palmer of Jerner & Palmer. Whether to get married and where involves an individual analysis for each […]

Dear PA Residents – Please Don’t Rush Into Getting Gay Married

I am so simply exhausted right now that I’m sure this post will be much more flippant than I intend. I’ve been on the phone ALL DAY dealing with media calls and trying to help people get services.  And doing laundry.  And medicating cats. The glamorous life. So I just read that Montgomery County, Pennsylvania […]