Unemployment Benefits Cut in Pennsylvania; Where LGBTQ Unemployed Can Turn

gay unemployment

73,000 Pennsylvanians stopped receiving emergency unemployment compensation yesterday due to the expiration of a federal extension launched under the Bush Administration. 73,000 of our neighbors without a job and with no income in a still terrible economy where Fight Club determines which person gets the PT barista job. I don’t really have a lot that’s […]

The Tow Truck Driver Drove a Chariot

Daily Prompt: Sink or Swim Tell us about a time when you were left on your own, to fend for yourself in an overwhelming situation — on the job, at home, at school. What was the outcome? Once upon a time, I drove a group of adults with developmental disabilities to Harrisburg to participate in […]

Lehigh County Commissioner Compares Domestic Partners to Pets

Just when you think … oh who am I kidding? This doesn’t suprise anyone. Speaking on the extension of equal marriage benefits to same-sex couples in the state, Lehigh County Commissioner Tom Creighton made the comments whilst pushing an amendment which would deny equal benefits to same-sex partners of county employees. “The state has a […]

Letter to the Editor: Chick-fil-A Is Where We Took Our Stand

Seriously, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read this in the Post-Gazette letters to the editor: The people of this region spoke loud and clear of how they feel about gay marriage when we supported Chick-fil-A and stood in line for hours and wrapped around the building several times. The people […]

Would a Domestic Partnership Interfere with a Civil Marriage?

So I continue to wait for someone to remedy the situation with the City of Pittsburgh, I had an interesting thought. FTR, we are now up to three members of Council, a staffer with the Mayor’s office, the ACLU and the Women’s Law Project all trying to find out what happened to the affidavits. Your […]

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 […]

Pennsylvania: The Battle Ground for Marriage Equality And Where I Happen To Live

“It must be exciting living in Pennsylvania,” she typed via Facebook. “There’s something new every day.” She is, of course, referring to our unexpected status as an epicenter for the marriage equality struggle. The ACLU has taken the Commonwealth to federal court over marriage equality.  The State Attorney General won’t defend the lawsuit because she […]

LGBTQ&A: State Senator Wayne Fontana

An occasional series where we pose some questions to local LGBTQ folks (and Allies) to learn more about their personal experiences with LGBTQ culture.  Click here for a complete list of all LGBTQ&A profiles.   I’ve lived in Senator Fontana’s district for more than eight years and I”m very active – I email him pretty often and […]

LGBTQ Family Law in PA “Total Chaos” Plus Advice from Dear Abby

From the Post-Gazette An audience member asked whether it was true that same-sex couples could file a joint return in a state like Massachusetts but couldn’t do so in Pennsylvania. The panel uniformly answered yes. “It’s total chaos,” said Tiffany Palmer of Jerner & Palmer. Whether to get married and where involves an individual analysis for each […]