A central Pennsylvania borough is poised to become the first municipality to repeal anti-discrimination safeguards that protect residents against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender identity.
The plan by Chambersburg Borough Council to vote Monday to rescind the anti-discrimination ordinance comes only four months after the borough ratified the ordinance in October.
Proponents of the ordinance say the newly installed conservative majority on the borough council is wielding its muscle, invoking the idea of a voter mandate to rescind an ordinance that was extensively vetted and researched last year.
“I don’t know of any reasons for repealing it other than a political move,” said Alice Elia, a Democrat and the former Chambersburg borough council president. “This issue should not be politicized. It’s an issue of justice and having equal protection for everybody in our community. It shouldn’t be a political or a Democratic or Republican issue. This should be something we are all concerned about.”
The ordinance, which extends protections against discrimination to gay, transgender or genderqueer people in employment, housing and public accommodations, was passed in October by the then-Democratic majority council.
The political makeup of the council, however, changed with the November municipal election, which ushered in a 7-3 Republican majority.
Allen Coffman, a Republican and newly installed borough council president, is clear on why he opposes the ordinance.
“All of us that ran in this election to be on council we think we got a mandate from the people,” he said. “People we talked to when we were campaigning did not like this ordinance at all. I don’t know what the vote will be, but I have a pretty good idea.”
The council last year led a three-month exploratory process to fact find and delve into the issues. The process was accessible to the public.
“I felt it was a very open, very educational process that allowed people to ask questions,” Elia said. “It wasn’t rushed.”
A few weeks ago, immediately after installation of the new members, the council revoked a measure that would have assembled a commission to oversee discrimination complaints, instead voting in favor of a measure to repeal the ordinance.
“It was kind of a take back Chambersburg and let’s go back to the 1950s the way we all liked it,” said Sandra Mailey, chairwoman of the Franklin County Democratic Committee. “Everybody in Chambersburg didn’t feel that way.”
Although Franklin County is predominantly Republican leaning, Mailey said that what is playing out in the borough — the county seat — mirrors other nationwide trends.
“I think it’s a national strategy of the Republican party to get to the base and get to local government to take over from grassroots groups and try to maintain power that way,” she said.
What is arguably being rushed, Elia said, is the upcoming repeal vote by a newly elected council whose members, with a few exceptions, are serving in public office for the first time.
“My concern is that it’s a big decision to overturn something like this,” Elia said. “It hasn’t happened before and for that to be something that is first on the table for people who have never held a position like this is a big thing to do.”
Coffman said the ordinance serves no purpose and is redundant, noting that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission already is tasked with handling discrimination complaints from commonwealth residents.
“There are no penalties, no fines,” he said. “There’s nothing that the ordinance can make someone do. The most they can hope for is that the committee request the two parties to sit down with a counselor or mediator and talk about it. Quite frankly there is nothing that compels them to. There’s no teeth in this.”
Coffman, who was re-elected to the council as president, last year voted against the ordinance. He said he planned to vote to repeal it on Monday.
“My view of government is to simplify it and not make it more complicated,” he said. “If you have no guarantee that you can get a resolution at the local level, it’s obviously going to go to the state. To me we are stalling. If you have a good case, it’s good enough to go to the state and let them make the decision.”
If Chambersburg succeeds in repealing the ordinance, it would mark the first time an LGBTQ inclusive law is revoked in Pennsylvania. To date, 70 municipalities, including Gettysburg, Shippensburg, Carlisle, Camp Hill and Harrisburg, have ratified such ordinances.
Pennsylvania is one of 27 states that have no explicit statewide laws protecting people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations.
“Rushing to repeal it to fit the politics of the moment would be an exceedingly bad move,” said Preston Heldibridle, executive director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, an advocacy group for transgender youth. “This goes beyond politics. This is a neighborhood issue and we support all those who live, work and choose to raise their families in the borough.”
Heldibridle, whose group this week hosted virtual town halls on the issue, said the ordinance addresses gaps in state and federal law, specifically listing sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. The Chambersburg ordinance also extends protections to veterans.
Heldibridle noted that anti-discrimination ordinances have broad support, including from education and economic stakeholders. During Thursday’s town hall, he noted that entities such as WellSpan, Penn State, Wilson College and Giant have come out in support of the ordinance.
“There is unprecedented support for equal rights protection for the LGBTQ community under the law,” Hildebrand said.
This week, ahead of Monday’s vote, several educators, faith leaders and business community members voiced their support for the ordinance and their opposition to its repeal.
The Rev. Renata Moseley Harper of the John Wesley A.M.E Zion Church in Chambersburg, invoked her faith in supporting the ordinance.
“I support this non-discrimination ordinance specifically because of what Jesus said was the greatest commandment,” she said. “To love God with all our heart, soul, might and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. How wide is our circle of neighbors? Well according to Jesus Christ, everyone is a potential neighbor and due our love and compassion.”
Moseley Harper, who is Black, said she was no stranger to discrimination and had as a former resident of the borough been denied services at restaurants and housing because of her race.
“The question that we have before us as a faith community is how do we want to be known?” she said. “What kind of people are we going to be? Folks who extend this protection to our neighbors and then yank it back? Would not we rather be known as a community that extends love, compassion and protections to all citizens?”
State Rep. Wendi Thomas, a Republican from Bucks County, excoriated the idea that an anti-discrimination ordinance faced repeal.
“What year are we in?” she said in a written statement read at a Pennsylvania Youth Congress town hall this week. “We are 22 years into the 21st century. We are past the time we should allow any fellow Pennsylvanians to be treated as second-class citizens whether for their gender identity or sexual orientation. Yet here we are in 2022 having to talk about fairness for all fellow human beings.”
Thomas noted that LGBTQ anti-discrimination legislation has long stalled in the Legislature.
“To my fellow public officials until the General Assembly passes this legislation, it is up to you,” she said. “You are the only ones who can provide exclusive protection for LGBTQ people. We can never be fully free, if some of us are still treated like second-class citizens.”
Coffman rebuked the idea that the borough needs the ordinance. He noted that council last year reprimanded him for what was considered a racially inappropriate email that he sent to a constituent.
“I don’t consider our community a racist or bigot community,” he said. “Do I have a personal interest in this? Absolutely.”
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