Pennsylvanians should be proud of our commonwealth, a strong fixture in the forefront of the gay civil rights movement.
Starting in 1965, the first public demonstrations for gay rights took place outside Independence Hall on July 4, every year until 1968. Legendary activists Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings were among its organizers. While theses demonstrations were practically ignored by the media of the era, they were the nation’s first, and across from Independence Hall now stands an official historic marker from the Pennsylvania Historic Commission in recognition of the marches and the struggle for gay rights. The marker is historic in its own right, being the first governmental GLBT historic marker in the nation.
But, of more importance and lasting effect is the work that was done on a statewide level in the early 1970s, which I am proud to have spearheaded. At the time, sitting Governor Milton Shapp was running for re-election, and I requested a meeting to discuss the state of the gay and lesbian community in Pennsylvania. It was expected that the governor would not be agreeable in the heat of the election. To everyone’s surprise, he was. That meeting was the first meeting in the nation between gay activists and a state governor. After his election, Shapp followed through on our suggestion from that meeting and created the “Governor’s Commission For Sexual Minorities,” the first official governmental commission created to look onto the problems of the gay and lesbian community. That commission also led to Pennsylvania becoming the first state in the nation to outlaw discrimination in state government. Shapp became the first governor to issue gay pride resolutions.
Current Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell became the first governor to hire numerous GLBT individuals to fill out his administration. He also urged our community to become part of the political process. Rendell regularly marches in gay pride parades and goes to GLBT events. Most notable was his appointment of Dan Anders as Judge in the Court of Common Pleas. This was the first appointment of an openly gay judge by a governor in Pennsylvania.
Today, the groundwork in the 70s has almost been forgotten, and while there is various progress in areas of gay rights in this state, we still have no gay rights laws on a state wide level. This year, House Bill 300 was introduced into the state legislature, which would give legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. We have introduced such bills since 1976 with little success. That legislation is our top priority on a statewide level.