Pittsburgh Public School GSA Students Stand With Nonbinary Teen Nex Benedict, Call on District Leadership To Do The Same

Please read this statement crafted by students. Of particular importance are the Calls To Action for Pittsburgh Public School administrators. These kids understand better what Nex Benedict endured than most adults ~ Sue As Genders & Sexualities Alliances (GSA) and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (GSSU) in Pittsburgh Public Schools), we are fortunate to be […]

316 Reasons to Add Your LGBTQ Story to the #AMPLIFY Archive

Since 2015, we have been collecting stories from LGBTQ folks with ties to Western Pennsylvania. Some live here now, others grew up in this region. Others still attended college or had a job that brought them here or spent summers with their grandparents in an outlying community. Here includes 26 counties in Western Pennsylvania, from […]

West Mifflin School Districts Expands Nondiscrimination Protections to Include Gender Identity

West Mifflin High School Class Reunion

I lived in West Mifflin from age two through college. It was a rather brutal environment. I ended up with a decent education. I’ve written about some of those experiences.  One of my high school friends was openly gay. Others were suspected, but it was not an environment where such disclosures were encouraged or well-received. […]

Ally, 20, Describes Her Fluid Sexual Orientation #AMPLIFY

Lawrence County

Name:  Ally Age: 20 County of Residence: Lawrence County. My parents house is in Lawrence county but I currently live in Allegheny for school with my girlfriend. Preferred Pronouns: She/her How do you describe your identity? That’s a good question. I do identify as a white female, but as for sexual orientation I don’t know. I don’t like to label […]

Big Burrito Group Updates Trans Inclusive Language

Big Burrito Transgender

You may recall earlier in the year we reported that the folks at Big Burrito had made an ill-conceived attempt at humor by referencing Caitlyn Jenner in their “celebrity” portion of their menu at the Mad Mex restaurants. After backlash from the community, Chef Bill Fuller and his team pulled the menu and issued an […]

Post-Gazette Erases Trans Community & Worse in Article About Homeless Youth

GLAAD media guide

Score another one for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s inaccurate and unfair coverage of the LGBTQ community. This time, reporter Mary Neiderberger is at bat. She recently wrote a piece about homeless youth in Allegheny County using somewhat accurate and fair language about the impact of sexual orientation and gender identity on the number of youth on […]

Pittsburgh Municipal Equality Index Score Increases for 2014

Municipal Equality Index

The 2014 HRC Municipal Equality Index has been released. Pittsburgh residents have gained significant benefit from the 2014 court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania, but has only made slight actual gains in terms of municipal initiated efforts to address equality. Pittsburgh’s most noticeable ongoing weakness is evident in the “gender identity” indicators. The scoring […]

Post-Gazette Ignores Trans Community When It Comes To Discrimination

When I saw the headline “Jurassic Legislature: As gays marry, lawmakers won’t protect their rights” I cringed. I thought to myself as I opened the link “please let them get it right, please let them get it right.” BOOM. They got it so very wrong. The poor performance of the state Legislature has a number […]

PA Governor Corbett States Support for Non-Discrimination Legislation

Corbett Pennsylvania

In a move that implies the changing dynamics of Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Corbett announced his support for legislation that would expand non-discrimination protection to the LGBTQ community. HB 300 and its companion bill would expand the scope of the state Human Relations Law to include sexual orientation and gender identity in matters of employment, housing […]

Why Does WESA Think Tony Norman Is the Go-To-Guy on LGBTQ Issues?

Remember when President Obama announced that he supported marriage equality?  Essential Pittsburgh’s choice to discuss what this meant? Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman. Remember when Jason Collins became the first openly gay male active in the big four professional leagues? Essential Pittsburgh’s choice to discuss what this meant? Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman. Now what does Tony […]