Issue Position: Equal Rights for All

Issue Position

I've spent my career fighting to protect equal rights. As an Allentown City Councilmember, I was proud to co-sponsor legislation that made Allentown the 4th municipality in Pennsylvania to provide domestic partner benefits for city employees. This law makes Allentown competitive in attracting and retaining a top-talented workforce at a next-to-nothing cost. As an employee with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, I worked with my colleagues to support the creation of the organization's LGBT Business Council. As a State Representative, I continue to fight for these vitally important issues.

I am a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, which fights for protection and equality for LGBT members of our community. I favor full equality and protection under the law for LGBT Pennsylvanians.

I am a cosponsor of every piece of pro-equality legislation, including legislation that would make it illegal to discriminate against LGBT Pennsylvanians. Right now, someone in Pennsylvania can be fired from their job, evicted or denied public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is wrong and must be changed.

Working with State Representative Brian Sims, the first ever openly gay member elected to the legislature, I helped establish the first ever LGBT "tweet up," which organized nearly twenty legislatures to answer questions from Pennsylvania residents on LGBT-related issues.

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