LGBTQ+ lawmakers renew calls for Pa. Fairness Act after Trump’s attacks on transgender rights

Pennsylvania House Democrats passed the Fairness Act in the previous session. Now lawmakers are renewing calls to pass protections for LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians after Trump signs executive orders attacking transgender rights.

Members of the Pennsylvania House’s LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus renewed calls to pass the Fairness Act on Tuesday in response to President Donald Trump’s administration attacking transgender rights. 

In his first full week in office, Trump signed executive orders that will kick transgender and non-binary US military members out of the service, ban gender affirming care for minors, and banned the use of taxpayer funds for gender affirming care. 

“These actions are hateful, ignorant, and dangerous—they threaten to unravel decades of progress our society has made toward fairness and equality. Gender identity and expression cannot be delegitimized by the stroke of a pen. Attempts to do so are shameful,” LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus members said in a statement.

“President Trump’s actions indicate he has made a serious commitment to stripping away protections and freedoms for transgender Americans.”

The statement was signed by seven openly LGBTQ+ lawmakers and they include State Reps. Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny) Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D-Lancaster), Andrew Carrol (D-Philadelphia), Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), La’Tasha Mayes (D-Allegheny), Abigail Salisbury (D-Allegheny) and Greg Scott (D-Montgomery).

House Democrats passed the Fairness Act with bipartisan support for the first time ever in May 2023, but it sat dormant in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate for the remainder of the legislative session. 

The Fairness Act would amend Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act to extend anti-discrimination protections to people based on sex, sexual orientation or gender expression. 

There are 23 states in the country that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including every state in the Northeast except Pennsylvania. 

“With the Trump administration launching attacks on transgender rights on day one, we recognize the immediate need to safeguard transgender individuals within the borders of our great commonwealth,” LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus members said in a statement. 

“Our caucus is committed to exploring and exhausting all legislative avenues—through the Fairness Act and beyond—to accomplish that critical goal.”