State Rep. Brian Sims today co-chaired a Democratic hearing to restore protections for LGBT people in Pennsylvania’s hate crimes law.
Democratic State Reps. Brian Sims and Mike Sturla today co-chaired  the House Democratic Policy Committee’s hearing on restoring protections for LGBT people to Pennsylvania’s hate-crime law, in response to the brutal September 11 anti-gay hate attack on a same-sex couple that landed them in the hospital.
“Our hate-crime law is leaving out women, LGBT people, and people targeted because of their ancestry or mental or physical disability,” Rep. Sims said, according to a statement released by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. “We must correct this injustice and deter hate crimes, which can have the effect of intimidating an entire segment of the community. Ultimately the public – urban, suburban and rural — must apply pressure to their state representatives and senators to make this right.”
Pennsylvania’s hate crimes law did include protections for LGBT people until 2008 when an an ti-gay Christian activist won a state Supreme Court case. The protections were removed on a technicality and no bill was been passed and signed into law restoring them.
“Every Pennsylvanian deserves to be treated with the same dignity and respect,” Policy Committee Chairman and today’s co-chair Mike Sturla said. “I applaud Representative Sims for attempting to correct the inequity where sexual orientation and gender identity are not covered in the state’s Hate Crimes law.”
Among those testifying at today’s hearing were Caryn Kunkle, a friend of the two men who were beaten on Sept. 11, and Philadelphia District Attorney R. Seth Williams.Â
Below, some tweets and social media posts from today’s hearing:
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Caryn Kunkle and Brian Sims