I had the opportunity to have dinner this evening with most of the staff and some Pittsburgh- based board members of Equality PA, and I was really impressed with how well the organization is growing and continues to be an effective voice for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians. I’ve been around activism for a while, and often you see an organization with extremely well intentioned goals but no clear path how to achieve them. And it wasn’t that many years ago, that Equality PA was not in such a strong position. The organization had desired to be a state-wide group, but was very entrenched in the Philadelphia area  and the types of serve ices it had been providing since its birth. I served on the Equality PA board at a time when they were breaking out of their regional-based efforts, and it was exciting to see how well organized and well running they are today.

In those days when I served on the board, we were doing our best to become a state-wide organization seeking out board members in every part of the state, and what a pleasure it is to look now and see how those efforts set the stage for how the groups is functioning not only  with board members across the state, but also field organizers working in every part of the state as well.

The big deal for us, in Pennsylvania is getting two bills, HB 300 and SB 300 passed to provide protections from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. If you’ve been a long-time reader, you know this bill has been a passion for me  since 2008. Today, the bill is hung up in the House by Darryl Metcalfe who is refusing to take it to the full House (because he knows it can pass?) but the bill is also alive in the Senate as SB 300 where too, it may have the votes to pass, and efforts across the state are on pressuring the Senate and the House to make progress and pass these bills which the Governor has said he would sign.

This was my first opportunity to meet most of the staff, and I was so impressed with them all. I hadn’t been aware of the focused effort by Equality PA to be working within Faith communities, although given what we know of the de graphics of the state, this makes perfect sense. Ammon Ripple serves as their state-wide Faith organizer and his approach to working with church groups across the state was refreshing. In my opinion, it is easy for an LGBTQ Rights activist to see Faith as a part of the problem if not the sole source of the homophobia we face. But to do so is short-sighted given the vast number of everyday persons in ever state who place great significance in their Faith experience. But we have been seeing great progress in most all of the mainline denominations, and many people of Faith have been at the forefront of the struggle for LGBTQ Rights.

Ammon shared how he meets many congregation members who feel afraid to push the issue, not sure how their pastor will respond, while at the same time, there are pastors who are fearful of moving ahead not sure if it will create a rift in the congregation. It is like each are waiting for the other to take the lead, and organizing can get these folks to work together for change.

I was very excited to see Trish Dougherty (I so hope I spelled that right) who was President of Pitt’s LGBTQA student group, the Rainbow Alliance, at the time they filed a complaint with the Pittsburgh Human Relations Commission. She has been engaged with Equality PA before is now back on the board. She is smart, humble, persistent, hard working and justice obsessed. Young people like this are the next generation of Freedom Fighters, and when you see an organization like Equality PA embrace young talent like this you know they are moving in the right direction.

Trish and others bring to the organization a profound commitment to trans issues in addition to work for the more traditional gay and lesbian base. This is not new for Equality PA. They have always embraced the whole of the LGBTQ which is one of the reasons I have remained a strong supporter.

If you haven’t become involved with Equality PA, what are you waiting for? Check them out at there website. No organization can accomplish the hard work with out individuals who get involved at every level from making a donation to serving as a volunteer in many different capacities. You can make a difference and keep moving Pennsylvania towards real equality through your involvement with Equality PA.