Montgomery County officials took a strong stance against discrimination earlier this month by issuing a proclamation.
Montgomery County officials took a strong stance against discrimination earlier this month by issuing a proclamation.
The edict introduced during a June 6 Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting “denounces all forms of bigotry against our residents as well as visitors to the county” as legislators work to implement safeguards of their own, according to Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Jamila Winder.
“In 2024 … it’s long past due that those protections are made into the law, and so here in Montgomery County we are committed to enshrining these same protections for all citizens,” Winder said.
Winder and Montgomery County Commissioners Vice Chairman Neil Makhija have been eyeing legislation working its way through the Pennsylvania General Assembly that, if passed, could institute more stringent protections.
“These protections exist in official guidance, but there’s no formal law that prohibits one from losing their job … for sharing that they have a same-sex partner,” Winder said.
Known respectively as “The Fairness Act,” House Bill 300 and Senate Bill 150 seek to prohibit “discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,” according to a legislative description from Pennsylvania Senate Democrats. Winder and Makhija, both Democrats, publicly endorsed the proposed state legislation earlier this month during a Pride flag-raising ceremony outside the courthouse in the county seat of Norristown.
Makhija also emphasized the importance of proceedings at the local level as he shared they attended another flag-raising ceremony in Whitpain Township. Of the 62 municipalities in Montgomery County, he noted that 26 jurisdictions have approved ordinances “to create protections for LGBTQ people through a human relations commission.”
Complaints related to discrimination surrounding gender identity and sexual orientation can be filed with the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s Pennsylvania State Director Ryan Matthews. More information can be found online at phrc.pa.gov.
“It’s really important that residents of Montgomery County and Pennsylvania understand, –particularly LGBTQ Pennsylvanians– that they have a means to redress in these situations,” Matthews said. “But it’s also important that they know those means are not codified into law.”
Elected officials applauded the agencies established locally, but both Makhija and Winder clarified it’s not permissible for them to authorize similar statutes countywide.
“While we can’t currently pass something like that … at the county level, what we can do is encourage other municipalities to follow suit,” Makhija said, adding “there are many more to go, and of course that’s something we want to advocate for as a protection statewide.”
“As a Class 2A county, the commonwealth does not give us the power to legislate in this area,” Winder said. “So by state law we cannot pass an ordinance on this topic.”
“So today’s proclamation is the next best thing we can do to demonstrate our commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, but other communities that still face discrimination throughout our commonwealth and our county,” she continued. “The proclamation is a way that we outline our values as commissioners and work to create a Montgomery County that’s truly welcoming as a home for all.”
While county commissioners differ on party lines, the trio of elected officials stood united on this messaging.
“I too envision a world where everyone is treated equally and the same no matter what their background, race, sexual preference, religious beliefs are. That’s what we have to promote,” said Republican Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello.
Matthews stressed the importance of advocacy as the organization observed a “state of emergency for LGBTQ people” across the nation, with a “historic wave of legislative assaults sweeping state legislatures.”
Matthews underscored that Montgomery County commissioners “have an important role to play in building that world we envision and we are so deeply grateful that you have taken such an important step on that.”
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