PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania House Democrats are once again pushing for a series of bills aimed at protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
Legislation from Democratic State Rep Jessica Bonham advanced out of the State House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that would expand anti-discrimination laws to cover sexual preference, gender identity or expression.
“The idea that we do not deserve to be discriminated against because of who we are or who we love should not be seen as controversial,” Bonham said.
Republicans said that while the bill is well-intentioned, it is too vague. While Democrats said it does not apply to medical treatment or athletics, Republican Josh Kail said it could affect other issues outside of the intended scope.
“At the end of the day, what we say in these committee meetings don't mean much legislative intent — as far as I know — has not been a very serious consideration of any court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, especially when you have language that says something different,” Kail said.
Other bills in the package would change the definition of marriage in the state code from “one man and one woman” to “a civil contract between two people.”
Another would ban the use of an LGBTQ+ “panic defense” in homicide trials, where a defendant claims they snapped because of an unwanted romantic advance or when they learned someone was gay or trans.
The committee did not take up a State Senate bill that would require scholastic sports to be labeled “male,” “female,” or “coed,” instead sending it to the House Children and Youth Committee over objections from Republicans.