Equality in Wilkes Barre means LGBT Rights!
Did you know that you can be fired, evicted from your home or denied service and public accommodations just for being gay? It's 100% true, and 100% legal in the city of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. And don't even get me started on the kind of stuff you have to deal with as a trans person... ugh...
I've been working on a project I've dubbed Equality Wilkes Barre; it's an initiative taken up by myself, Wilkes Barre City Councilman Tony Brooks and Councilwoman Beth Gilbert to pass an anti-discrimination bill in the city of Wilkes Barre. If this project is successful, it'll mean LGBT rights and protections from discrimination. It'll mean no more living in fear of bigoted, prejudiced employers and landlords. It'll mean common decency and respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people -- among many others. Isn't that something worth fighting for?
Well, it is. And Thursday evening, with about a dozen friends and allies, we took to the Wilkes Barre City Hall to sit in on the meeting where Beth Gilbert was going to be opening her proposition for this ordinance to public discussion. Her proposal is to amend a current ordinance, entitled Human Relations, to include protections for the LGBT community which would help us out if we ever find ourselves discriminated against.
The good news is, they accepted the proposal. It was a unanimous decision -- 5 out of 5 councilpersons. The bad news is, all they did was accept the PROPOSAL. It'll be another month until they vote on actually writing it into law. Even so, I'm optimistic.
Meanwhile, I'm getting called out in the comments section of the city paper's because I was mentioned by name for my involvement in this. Imagine, just for having the audacity to ask for a little bit of fair treatment, I raised a small ruckus. Ugh...
Well, that's what I do. I raise ruckuses.
As usual, the people complaining aren't seeing the bigger picture. This is not a request for "special treatment." All we want is to have the same protections as everyone else. It's not an extra special LGBT rights law, created just for us... All we're doing is making sure that if you can't be fired, evicted or thrown out of a business for being straight and cisgender, we shouldn't be subject to the abuse for being gay and/or trans. It's only fair. This is how we equalize things. That's not how they see it, of course, but whatever. This is a good thing, whether they realize it or not. The civil rights movement is alive and well. Equality in Wilkes Barre!
Well, it is. And Thursday evening, with about a dozen friends and allies, we took to the Wilkes Barre City Hall to sit in on the meeting where Beth Gilbert was going to be opening her proposition for this ordinance to public discussion. Her proposal is to amend a current ordinance, entitled Human Relations, to include protections for the LGBT community which would help us out if we ever find ourselves discriminated against.
The good news is, they accepted the proposal. It was a unanimous decision -- 5 out of 5 councilpersons. The bad news is, all they did was accept the PROPOSAL. It'll be another month until they vote on actually writing it into law. Even so, I'm optimistic.
Meanwhile, I'm getting called out in the comments section of the city paper's because I was mentioned by name for my involvement in this. Imagine, just for having the audacity to ask for a little bit of fair treatment, I raised a small ruckus. Ugh...
Well, that's what I do. I raise ruckuses.
As usual, the people complaining aren't seeing the bigger picture. This is not a request for "special treatment." All we want is to have the same protections as everyone else. It's not an extra special LGBT rights law, created just for us... All we're doing is making sure that if you can't be fired, evicted or thrown out of a business for being straight and cisgender, we shouldn't be subject to the abuse for being gay and/or trans. It's only fair. This is how we equalize things. That's not how they see it, of course, but whatever. This is a good thing, whether they realize it or not. The civil rights movement is alive and well. Equality in Wilkes Barre!
Now, if you'd like to the read the full story, I'll be posting a link to my article in NEPAScene.com.
Anyway, that's all for this week. More guitar vids are on their way, I promise. Keep on keepin' on!
Anyway, that's all for this week. More guitar vids are on their way, I promise. Keep on keepin' on!
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