Anti-discrimination hearing held at Pitt

The first hearing of a statewide anti-discrimination bill, meant to protect against bias… The first hearing of a statewide anti-discrimination bill, meant to protect against bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing or credit, was held yesterday in the Cathedral of Learning.

The bill was proposed by state representative Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, along with the House of State Government Committee. It amends the already existing Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

“I believe that the majority of Pennsylvanians are also ready to move forward with the kind of progress that the bill would achieve,” Frankel said. “Certainly, most of us want to live in a state where everyone is treated fairly and no one is discriminated against.”

House Bill 1400 saw much support at the hearing, but the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference offered opposition.

The PCC’s main concern lies in the conflict of traditional church teachings and its failure to include religious beliefs in the bill.

“Passing the bill would be the same as putting a stamp of approval on disconnecting the faithful Catholics from the others,” said Philip Murren, PCC member and partner of Ball, Murren and Connell law firm. “Those will be the consequences if the church has to facilitate conduct that it deems immoral.”

Adoption director in the Dioceses of Pittsburgh, Martha Beamer, also expressed apprehension toward future adoption practices through the Catholic Church.

“Children should not be placed in situations where they are either motherless or fatherless,” she said. “They need a home that has stability and security.”

According to Rita Joyce, director of civil services in the Dioceses, the Catholic Church does teach members to be respectful and sensitive with those of the same-sex persuasion as long as same-sex people don’t flaunt their orientation publicly.

Supporters of the bill provided firsthand accounts of sexual discrimination as well as research pertaining to discrimination in the workplace.

According to chair of the Pennsylvania House State Government Stephen A. Glassman, the Williams Institute found that at least one in 10 gay or lesbian people report suffering from employment discrimination and at least 10 percent of straight co-workers report witnessing it.

Public accountant and Harrisburg councilman Dan Miller is one of the many who have experienced discrimination. “When my employer found out that I was gay, he fired me and under oath has admitted to firing me for that reason,” he said. “The law was silent when I took the case to court, and we need to rectify that.”

The Rainbow Alliance, a Pitt student organization, is also getting involved and showing its support for the bill.

“Once we know that the bill is moving forward we are hoping to run an awareness campaign to spread knowledge about the bill and its benefits,” Rainbow Alliance president Aaron Arnold said. “We will also be running campaigns to gather student and faculty signatures in support of the Bill so that these documents can be sent to our representatives as a sign of our desire to see them vote in favor of the bill.”