Rep. Brendan Boyle believes his hate crimes bill can pass in the wake of Sept. 11’s violent anti-gay attack.
In 2002 Pennsylvania had a hate crimes law that included and protected LGBT people. But in 2008 the state Supreme Court overturned the legislation, after an anti-gay Christian group, Repent America, won their case — on a technicality.
Now, Democratic state Rep. Brendan Boyle is trying to push through another bill to protect Pennsylvania’s gay citizens. Boyle believes his legislation, introduced last year, could pass “as early as Tuesday.”
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Philadelphia Magazine’s Victor Fiorillo spoke with Boyle.
“Since it’s been introduced and co-sponsored and referred to committee, it could get final passage as early as Tuesday,†says Boyle, who has called a Harrisburg press conference on the subject for 11 a.m. Tuesday morning with State Representative Larry Farnese.
Rep. Brian Sims isn’t as optimistic, and sense the timing is wrong. He believes next year the legislation could pass.
“It has been a year-and-a-half since I introduced it, and the Republican leadership has shown no willingness to move any piece of legislation that touches sexual orientation,” Boyle says. “But in the wake of this event, there’s a better chance of it happening now than months from now, when this issue will have receded from the news.”
Will tomorrow be the day? Just how much more anti-gay violence do Pennsylvania lawmakers opposed to equality need to see before they act?
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