PHILADELPHIA: Pa. State Representative Brian Sims, D-Phila., the first openly gay elected state legislator in Pennsylvania applauded the vote on cloture for the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) in the U.S. Senate tonight. Sims especially commended Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, and Patrick Toomey, R-Pennsylvania. Both Senators voted for cloture on the landmark LGBT civil rights bill.

“I have long believed that civil rights cannot be a one party issue. Senator Casey has supported LGBT civil rights from nondiscrimination to marriage equality, and I am proud to see him continue to demonstrate that support tonight,” Sims said. “I am especially proud of Senator Toomey who tonight confirmed to Americans across the nation that civil rights is not an issue of right and left, but an issue of right and wrong. Senator Toomey’s vote in support of ENDA shows that a conservative ideology and support for LGBT equality are not mutually exclusive.

“While I am heartened and invigorated by tonight’s vote, we still have a long way to go in fulfilling our national creed that we are all created equal and endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Sims continued. “In 29 states, including Pennsylvania, American citizens can still be fired from their jobs, kicked out of their homes, or denied services at businesses all because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. We must continue our efforts to pass nondiscrimination laws at the state level, such as HB300 here in Pennsylvania, to ensure that we eliminate the last vestiges of discrimination from our laws.

“But tonight, we have made great progress,” said Sims. “And I wholeheartedly thank Senators Casey and Toomey for voting on the right side of history.”