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WHEREAS, Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act prohibits discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations based on an individual’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, education status, handicap or disability; and
WHEREAS, this same state law legally allows an employer to fire, a property owner to evict or a business to refuse service to a person based solely on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression; and
WHEREAS, twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., including every state in the Northeast United States, have enacted policies that provide a basic level of protection for members of the LGBTQ community; and
WHEREAS, Pittsburgh stands among more than 30 local governments across the Commonwealth with ordinances in place that promote workplace, housing and public accommodation fairness for LGBTQ residents; and
WHEREAS, a recent Commonwealth Court opinion found that the Philadelphia-area Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is not subject to Philadelphia’s LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance; and
WHEREAS, this court opinion could open the door to exclude multi-jurisdictional entities from the authority of the Pittsburgh Human Relations Commission, thus undercutting the Commission’s power to enforce Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination policy over such entities.
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NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby direct all City of Pittsburgh Authorities to pass policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.