Commissioners Unanimously Ban LGBT-Related Discrimination

A cheer and standing ovation greeted the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners with a unanimous vote to adopt a new anti-discrimination law protecting local members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) community.

Following months of discussion, debate, writing, rewriting and polishing the proposed ordinance, the commissioners agreed on a final version of the law that was voted in on Wednesday night at the Dec. 8 commissioners meeting.

As  on Patch, Pennsylvania state law bans discrimination for a list of protected classes, including race, ethnicity, religion, age, class, gender and others, but does not include any protections based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression–the three protected classes the Lower Merion ordinance adds to the existing group.

Members of the LGBT communities could be refused service at restaurants, fired from their jobs or evicted from their homes based on their sexual orientation–without any legal recourse under state or federal law.

With the passage of Lower Merion's ordinance, that is no longer true within the township.

The township will create a seven-member volunteer "human relations commission" to hear and resolve discrimination complaints. The commission will refer cases involving protected classes covered by state law on to the state-level human relations commission, and will hear LGBT-related cases locally.

The ordinance creates a process for adjudicating claims, including a voluntary mediation phase, followed by expanded procedures that would follow if the case cannot be resolved amicably. The commission could then investigate the claim, using subpoena power, move to a conciliation phase, and if still unsuccessful, conduct a public hearing, issue cease and desist orders and award civil penalties up to $10,000.

The commissioners opened up the floor for comments before voting on the ordinance, which produced a few tense moments as speakers listed perceived pros and cons of adopting the ordinance.

Equality Lower Merion founder Jason Landau Goodman, who first brought the possibility of adopting the ordinance to the board in July, said "So far you have voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance at every step. I am so proud as a lifelong resident of Lower Merion to see this happen."

Others suggested that the ordinance be made stronger to include further protection against discrimination. The ordinance will ban discrimination in the areas of employment, housing accommodations and public accommodations (restaurants, hotels, etc).

A few people at the meeting spoke against adopting the ordinance, some from outside of Lower Merion Township.

Ann Marie Altomare read a letter from friend Joann Stigliano of Ardmore in opposition to the new law. Altomare said the proposal was a "well-meaning but misguided attempt at social engineering." And in her opinion, infringed upon religious rights to hold opposing moral beliefs.

During Radnor resident Paul Hayes' speech in opposition to the ordinance, a distressed woman in the audience screamed at the speaker, using profanity and causing the meeting to come to a short standstill.

The majority of public comments were in favor of the ordinance, as they have been at the various levels of the drafting process. Bill Leopold of Merion, also a co-chair of the Democratic Committee of Lower Merion and Narberth, said the democratic committee passed a resolution in support of the law, and urged the commissioners to vote for it. "This ordinance should have the unanimous support of all parties, and all human beings, as a basic extension of human rights," Leopold said.

Several commissioners also made comments in support of the legislation, which President Bruce Reed said was first brought to his attention on Election Day 2009. Commissioner Philip Rosenzweig, one of the three subcommittee members with Reed and Commissioner Brian Gordon who helped revise the ordinance from its first draft in September, said that although the ordinance will never satisfy everyone, he thought it was the best the township could do.

"We are all taught, at least in the religions I know, that we are all God's children. I think this body is reflecting that sentiment by trying to do a compassionate and right thing in extending these rights," Rosenzweig said.

Gordon gave a passionate support of the ordinance, calling it a historic achievement for the township, which is the 17th municipality in Pennsylvania to enact similar legislation. "Today, this day, history is being made, not in Washington or in Harrisburg, but in this chamber," Gordon said.

A roll call vote after months of discussion adopted the ordinance as law.