This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
One of nine town halls across the state of Pennsylvania was held at the State College Municipal Building on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Co-hosted by the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, the Human Rights Campaign, American Civil Liberties Union Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Equality Project and Centre LGBT+, the “State of LGBTQ+ Pennsylvania” town hall aimed to lead a discussion on the state of LGBTQ+ rights, public policy and existing protection for the LGBTQ+ community in Pennsylvania.
Over 50 members of the community attended the event, including local officials like State College Mayor Ezra Nanes and State Rep. Paul Takac, D-Centre.
The town hall began with a presentation led by Jason Landau Goodman of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress which focused on current protections in place for LGTBQ+ community members in the state.
“Pennsylvania currently protects against LGBTQ+ discrimination through regulations from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, which enforces sex-based discrimination to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Michel Lee Garrett, Centre LGBT+ board member and public communications co-chair and moderator of the town hall, explained to The Centre County Gazette after the event.
“However, these protections have not been codified into state law. LGBTQ+ allies and advocates have been working to have these protections enshrined into state law, such as through the proposed Fairness Act, but this legislation has yet to be passed by the legislature. Codifying these kinds of protections into law would be a critical step forward to safeguarding the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians.”
Codifying is the process of “arranging laws, rules or regulations into a systematic code,” according to Cornell Law’s Legal Information Institute.
“LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians who experience discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity can and should file a complaint to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, but that is not a right guaranteed by law,” Pennsylvania State Director at Human Rights Campaign Ryan Matthews noted. “We need to pass the Fairness Act in Pennsylvania to add those protections to state law.”
After the presentation led by Goodman, Kevin Kassab, Centre LGBT+ board member and State College Borough council member, gave insight on the State College Borough support for LGBTQ+ residents.
Within State College Borough, which Lee Garrett noted scored a perfect score of 100% in the Human Rights Campaign’s municipal equality index, nondiscrimination ordinances are in place.
“Among other policies, State College Borough has nondiscrimination ordinances in place, was among the first municipalities to ban conversion therapy, maintains an LGBTQ Advisory Commission to help advise on policy and best practices and recently passed a policy to protect access to gender affirming care,” Lee Garrett shared. “However, these policies are not evenly adopted at the local level across the Centre Region or the county, meaning Centre County’s LGBTQ+ residents experience different levels of protection depending on where they live.”
During the town hall, Tanja Hernandez, a Penn State graduate student and community organizer, shared research on trans and gender-diverse (a term used for people whose gender identity or expressions varies from the binary framework) people’s experiences, specifically noting on how these individuals face higher violence rates and are faced with unequal access to health care.
Lastly, at the event Matthews shared what was occurring at the federal level in terms of policies to protect and support LGBTQ+ people and how the community could advocate for those policies.
“The incoming administration has made it clear they plan to make life much more painful for transgender people — whether that means ending access to health care, changing government documents or other simple everyday rights,” Matthews noted to The Centre County Gazette about potential changes in policy over the next four years. “Some of this can only be addressed at the federal level, but we need Pennsylvania lawmakers to do what they can to temper these mean-spirited attacks. That means modernizing our outdated name change process and finally adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s hate crimes law.”
Lee Garrett also highlighted the importance of Centre LGBT+ within Centre County both presently and in the coming years.
“As a values-driven and mission-driven nonprofit, Centre LGBT+ is opposed to policies that would harm our community, and we hope to see a broad, nonpartisan coalition of lawmakers and allies
oppose this kind of legislation. Protecting LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians — our friends, neighbors, colleagues and loved ones — is an expression of our shared values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Lee Garrett said. “Areas where we hope to see progress at the state level include the adoption of LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination laws, strengthened anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime protections and a statewide law safeguarding access to lifesaving gender-affirming health care.”
Lee Garrett noted that Centre LGBT+ is also “inventorying policies at the local and municipal level in Centre County to create a shared understanding of where there are strong protections for our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors, and where there is opportunity for improvement.”
Regardless of what possible future policies are put in place, Lee Garrett noted that LGBTQ+ people in Centre County have a space and community here which provides support.
“For LGBTQ+ people here in Centre County, there are friends, allies and a community of supporters who are here for you. You are not alone. You are seen, welcomed and loved. There are organizations, public servants and allies who are working to protect, uplift and advance LGBTQ+ rights, and we will continue this important work. Community and solidarity are the basis for how the LGBTQ+ community has come so far, and we will continue to make progress as we always have: together,” Lee Garrett said.
And for those looking to support LGBTQ+ community members, Lee Garrett noted some ways to show allyship.
“Allyship is so important to the LGBTQ+ community, and we need our friends and loved ones to be vocal supporters of LGBTQ+ dignity. Cherish the LGBTQ+ people in your life, let them know you support them and affirm that you are here for them. Share your support and invite dialogue when you hear other people express anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments,” Lee Garrett said. “Display a pride flag at your home, office or place of faith to signal that it is a safe and welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people. And feel free to reach out and get involved. From helping keep our physical space open, to advocating for LGBTQ+ policies, to showing our support at community events, Centre LGBT+ is grateful for the support of allies and volunteers who help make our work possible.”
