Well I received email from Equality Advocates PA asking for me to take action in regards to HB 1400, which is legislation to amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing, and public accomodations.

You want to send your letter to the House State Rep of your district. I live in Oxford, PA, so I’m in District 13 and Art Hersehy is my House State Rep (I’m probably on his nerves as I just sent him an email yesterday asking him to take action on the Property Tax Elimination Act. And now I’m emailing him today too about HB 1400 hehehe)

If you want to find out who your House State Rep is then go here.

After you find out who he or she is then email, hand write, visit or call them but say the following:

Subject: Please Vote HB 1400 out of State Government Committee!

Dear (insert their name),

Please vote House Bill 1400 out of State Government Committee! This important bill would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and public accomodations because of one’s sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

I feel it is important for all members of our society to be protected from discrimination.

An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that hard working and law-abiding citizens should not be discriminated against in the workplace, yet under Pennsylvania law, it is legal to fire someone simply for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

I ask that you take a stand for equality by supporting civil rights bills that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Pennsylvanians from discrimination, and voting this bill out of committee!

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address (including zip.)

I added a little more to my email but overall it says the same thing. Here are a few more points you can touch on if you like:

- Current PA 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, but not sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression

- Twenty states have already amended their state civil rights laws to protect against this type of discrimination

- All 27 Fortune 500 companies headquarted in PA prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation

- Although several municipalities protect its citizens against this discrimination by local ordinence, 79% of Pennsylvanians are not covered by non-discrimination protections

Ok that about does it for this issue folks. Please take action and then report back here and let us all know what your Rep. said (Art Hershey was pretty good at getting back to me about my issue yesterday, so we’ll see how he does with a gay and lesbian issue in our uptight, conservative and republican district!)

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Posted under Government, glbt rights, take action