Republican Senator Scott Wagner is standing firm in his support of the Pennsylvania Fairness Act, which would update the state’s 1955 Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
In the last several days, following a directive from the Obama Administration affirming that transgender students should be able to use the restroom consistent with their gender identity, Sen Wagner says that some of his colleagues and opponents of equal protections for LGBT people have nearly bullied him into removing his name from the legislation—citing harmful lies about what this legislation is about and who LGBT people are.
Today, the Senator declared that he “will not be removing my name from this legislation.” In a through update posted to his website, he goes on to affirm that the Pennsylvania Fairness Act isn’t about unfounded claims of public safety incidents in restrooms. It’s about ensuring that all Pennsylvanians can work hard and provide for their families in the state we all call home:
As an employer and a Pennsylvanian, I believe that everyone should be
treated fairly and with dignity.As an employer, I do not care what your sexual preference is as long as you perform at or beyond the required expectations of your job. The fact remains that without this legislation there are a group of citizens that can legally be fired or overlooked because of their sexual orientation instead of their job performance. This is a step in the right direction to ensure workers are not being discriminated against.
This is why I put my name on this legislation, and this is what I will
continue to work toward. The fact that attempts have been made to intimidate me and other supporters of SB 974 to try to get us to remove our co-sponsorships of this legislation and are trying to change the
conversation to make it about men in women’s bathrooms should not deter us from our goal.
We thank Senator Wagner for standing alongside more than 1,000 businesses and a majority of Pennsylvanians who agree that our state and our economy are stronger when all qualified, hardworking Pennsylvanians are protected from discrimination. And our coalition remains more committed than ever to working alongside Senator Wagner and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers to pass the Pennsylvania Fairness Act to ensure our state is open for business to all, not just some.