Equality Advocates Pennsylvania

Why I give my time and money to Equality Advocates Pennsylvania is simple...

I want to help this organization in its fight for the civil rights of people in Pennsylvania who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). I decided to become an attorney in the early 1990’s because I knew that I wanted to be involved in the battle for LGBT equality. 
 
My decision to serve on the Board of Directors of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania was an opportunity for me to aid the organization in meeting the need for direct legal services and advocacy for LGBT individuals in Pennsylvania. While some national LGBT organizations concentrate on impact litigation at the appellate level, Equality Advocates Pennsylvania focuses on providing legal services on the trial level and policy reform on the local and state level in Pennsylvania. Equality Advocates Pennsylvania is the only statewide or national LGBT advocacy organization that provides direct legal services to this constituency. 
 
Equality Advocates Pennsylvania helps secure basic civil rights that LGBT people are denied solely on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. For example, Patrick, a former employee of a Philadelphia car dealership, was harassed and fired. The work environment was one where anti-gay slurs against customers and employees were routine and tolerated, and anti-gay graffiti was often present in dealership restrooms used by customers, salespeople, and management. When Patrick voiced his complaints, he was told that anti-gay slurs were the standard throughout the auto sales agency. After filing a complaint with his employer, he was terminated. Equality Advocates Pennsylvania is helping Patrick to fight this discrimination before the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. 
 
In most parts of Pennsylvania, however, it is legal for private employers to fail to hire and to demote, fire, and harass LGBT employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. There is no federal or state law explicitly prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people. This is why I became actively involved with Equality Advocates Pennsylvania by donating my time and money. 
 
Equality Advocates Pennsylvania has been serving Pennsylvania’s LGBT community for over a decade. Its attorneys are some of the most experienced in the country in dealing with unique and often complicated LGBT legal issues and are expert at navigating the justice system to help LGBT clients. It has responded to over 4,000 requests for assistance and provided direct representation to more than 500 LGBT individuals. 
 
Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, assisted by dedicated allies and supporters, has successfully worked to move state and local policy toward LGBT equality. Its client representation is setting legal precedents that help to secure the rights of and expand remedies for LGBT people under existing laws. It helped to pass Philadelphia’s domestic partnership ordinances and defended those ordinances in court, worked with many localities to craft LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances, and successfully worked to include LGBT people in the state’s hate crimes law. And it has worked to defeat anti-LGBT legislation such as a proposed state Constitutional amendment that would have prohibited same-sex couples from getting married and recognition of any non-marital relationships. 
 
As a Hispanic woman, I feel safe knowing that race or gender bias is against the law in America, and that I have the recourse to address these wrongs should they occur. Why, however, should it be acceptable that this county proclaims itself throughout the world as a beacon of freedom, liberty and equality, be allowed to discriminate against and classify Americans as a second class citizens? It is not right, it is not moral, and it’s UNAMERICAN! By supporting Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, I am helping to make equality a reality for LGBT Pennsylvanians.