#MoreThanMarriage – The Blade and City Paper Take a Deeper Look at Equality

Pittsburgh Pride

I was pleased to be part of these articles exploring the “what’s next?” angle of the marriage equality decision. As you probably realize, I’m a big picture ‘what’s next?’ kind of blogger. Some might say the glass is half empty; I say let’s fill the damn glass up and stop engaging in pointless philosophizing. Michael […]

People Are Standing Up To Daryl Metcalfe

Letter To The Editor Pittsburgh

Last week, Daryl Metcalfe tried to rally the troops to impeach State Attorney General Kathleen Kane for derelicting her duty to defend the state DOMA law (Kane will not defend the state law in various court cases, most notably one led by the ACLU in federal court.)  In response, a few folks wrote in to […]

So Where the Heck is the Lesbian Content?

Someone asked me if I had decided to stop writing about LGBTQ “stuff” – I suppose my recent posts have been a bit eclectic. But they are about me and I am LGBTQ so I think it is a fit. I realize there is a lot happening in the world so let me offer up […]

You Might Be Paranoid, But You Still Might Be Right – Here’s How To Find Out

Social Media

Teach Your (Bloggers) Well We all know how to do something well — write a post that teaches readers how to do something you know and/or love to do. Something I know how to do well is use social media and Internet research to help me solve problems. I don’t mean to just Google an […]

Five Year Anniversary of a Public Hearing Should Generate More Activism in Pennsylvania

Franco Harris Pittsburgh

Tell us about a time when everything actually turned out exactly as you’d hoped. Five years ago today, Allegheny County Council held a public hearing on a non-discrimination ordinance which included sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. You can read 78 pages of public testimony here. Some of it is brilliant, some of it […]

A Bishop, a Rabbi and a Newspaper Columnist Walk Into a Gay Bar

The Post-Gazette has published a lovely piece from Rabbi Aaron B. Bisno, senior rabbi of Rodef Shalom Congregation in Squirrel Hill. We don’t like the government intruding into citizens’ personal lives, and we have a deeply ingrained sympathy for victims of prejudice, having so often been victims ourselves. As Rabbi Yoffie states, “We know from long […]

Here’s What We Need To Do About HB 300

From the  City Paper (excellent analysis btw):   But the bill might at least get a hearing — and that “is critically important,” Sims says. “We haven’t had people testifying before us about the impact of discrimination, saying, ‘You’re telling me I’ve lived and worked here my whole life, but I’m not treated equally?’” Metcalfe […]

WESA 90.5 Discusses HB 300 and Non-Discrimination Laws

Earlier in the week, Essential Pittsburgh spoke with State Representative Dan Frankel about HB 300 which would amend the state non-discrimination law to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. 22 states currently have protections for individuals based upon their sexual orientation, including most of the states surrounding Pennsylvania. Frankel says this makes the […]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Calls for ENDA Passage

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has come out in support of passage of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Although federal law bans employment discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, age and disability, it does not prohibit bias due to sexual orientation or gender identity. Some states have laws that provide such protection, but Pennsylvania is among 29 […]

ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit for Marriage Equality in Pennsylvania

By now, you’ve probably heard the big news – the ACLU has filed suit in federal court on behalf of 11 plaintiffs, challenging the constitutionality of the Pennsylvania DOMA. Six of the plaintiffs are PA couples who cannot marry in their state of residence and 5 are couples or individuals who married out of state […]