Politixia
With nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ+ people having reported experiencing discrimination in their personal lives, this bill would guarantee that LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians are extended the same nondiscrimination protections that other Pennsylvanians have enjoyed for decades.
According to the latest data this year from PRRI, support for LGBTQ+ rights is on the rise in Pennsylvania and nationwide: 77% of Commonwealth residents support nondiscrimination protections, and 65% of Pennsylvania residents oppose refusal of service on religious grounds. About eight in ten Americans (80%) favor laws that would protect LGBTQ+ people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing. This reflects a dramatic increase in the proportion of Americans who support nondiscrimination protections since 2015, when it was 71%.
Pennsylvania voters elected a pro-equality majority to take control of the House in November 2022, ending 12 years of anti-equality control. This victory was made possible in part by the Commonwealth’s Equality Voters — a group numbering more than 3 million in Pennsylvania — voters modeled to support LGBTQ+ equality. They represented 38 percent of the 2022 electorate nationally and in Pennsylvania, a number that reflects the growing political strength of this voting bloc, and tend to be younger and more racially diverse than the electorate as a whole.
The Fairness Act arrives as other states across the country are headed in the exact opposite direction, moving to restrict LGBTQ+ rights and unfairly discriminate through legislation.
www.hrc.org
