State of Pennsylvania secondary Archives: on Civil Rights
David McCormick:
2013: supported same-sex marriage to Supreme Court
In 2013, McCormick joined 131 other Republicans in signing an˙amicus brief˙filed at the˙United States Supreme Court˙supporting the legalization of gay marriage prior to˙Obergefell v. Hodges.˙During McCormick's tenure as CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the
Source: Wikipedia on 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race
May 22, 2022
Bob Casey:
Evolved over time to support gay marriage
Q: Support gay marriage?Lou Barletta (R): No. Opposes gay marriage & Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage.
Says it should be a state decision.
Bob Casey (D): Yes. Position has shifted over time.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Pennsylvania Senate race
Oct 9, 2018
Brendan Boyle:
Ensure women receive equal pay for equal work
I am a strong advocate for the Lily Ledbetter Act. We must enforce and strengthen laws that ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.
No worker should ever receive a lower salary because of her gender.
Source: 2014 Pennsylvania House campaign website, VoteBoyle.com
Oct 10, 2014
Brendan Boyle:
Opposed DADT and DOMA; now supports ENDA
I supported the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I was pleased when the Supreme Court ruled DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) unconstitutional. I think all people
should be treated the same. I will also support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in Congress. No one deserves to be fired because of his or her sexual orientation.
Source: 2014 Pennsylvania House campaign website, VoteBoyle.com
Oct 10, 2014
Doug Mastriano:
Bar trans women from playing women's sports
He has promised that as governor he would issue executive orders on his first day in office to ban "critical race theory" --
a concept often taught in law schools that has become a catchall term for curriculum on racism -- and to bar trans women from playing women's sports.
Source: Spotlight PA on 2022 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial race
May 17, 2022
Joe Gale:
Called Black Lives Matter a radical left-wing hate group
Amid the Black Lives Matter protests in Philadelphia, Gale focused on the demonstrations in the city that had turned violent and destructive. In a statement, he called Black Lives Matter a "radical left-wing hate group"
and "perpetrators of this urban domestic terror." Gale was censured by the county commissioners, and Democratic Commissioner Valerie Arkoosh called him a racist.
Source: Philly Voice on 2022 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial race
Feb 17, 2021
Joe Sestak:
Anti-discrimination laws toward LGBT are long overdue
Laws protecting LGBT Americans from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations are long overdue, and we need trusted advocates - actually, warriors - in the Senate to move this fight forward. In my 31-year career in the U.S. Navy,
I served alongside many LGBT Americans who were all committed to defending our nation. I had the fortune to lead and serve under some of these fine men and women who simply wanted to get the job done. They would have died for me, and I for them.
Source: Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Nov 30, 2015
John Fetterman:
Officiated at one of the first same-sex marriages in PA
When Pennsylvania lawmakers continued to push outdated discriminatory policies banning marriage equality, Mayor John stood up and officiated one of the first same-sex marriages in the commonwealth.
Mayor John was re-elected in 2009 by a 2-1 margin, and again in 2013 by an 8-1 margin, and now serves in his 3rd term as mayor.
Source: 2016 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website JohnFetterman.com
Sep 22, 2015
John Fetterman:
Women only makes 78 cents for every dollar a man makes
It is incomprehensible that for every dollar a man makes, a woman only makes 78 cents. The inequality is even more astounding among minorities, with African American women only making 64 cents on the dollar and
Hispanic or Latina women making just 53 cents. There is no logical explanation as to why women should earn less than men.
Source: 2016 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website JohnFetterman.com
Apr 1, 2016
Josh Shapiro:
Change black businesses getting only 4% of state contracts
He promised better highways and better access to the information superhighway and promised to tackle systemic inequality like black-owned businesses only getting
4% of state contracts. "We're gonna change it by giving a damn. We're gonna change it by acknowledging that reality and do something about it," Shapiro said.
Source: ABC27-WHTM on 2022 Pennsylvania Gubernatorial race
Oct 13, 2021
Josh Shapiro:
Ban LGBTQ+ discrimination in Pennsylvania
As Governor, Josh will put his full capital behind the effort to finally ban discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in Pennsylvania so that LGBTQ+ community can work, attend school, and seek housing under the same rights as everyone else in the
Commonwealth. He'll expand our hate crime laws to cover our LGBTQ+ communities, invest in mental health resources to support LGBTQ+ youth, and finally ban conversion therapy for minors.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Governor campaign website JoshShapiro.org
May 18, 2022
Kathy Barnette:
Critical Race Theory is evil race-based Marxism
CRT is evil. Race-based Marxism is making the long march through all of our institutions. Our children are being taught to hate each other based on their skin color. CRT will make America racist again. Instead of focusing on combat readiness and a sound
exit strategy out of Afghanistan, our military leaders are focusing on so-called 'white rage.' This kind of neo-Jim Crow nonsense comes here with one purpose: to destroy American institutions and replace them. We cannot allow them to be successful.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate website BarnetteForSenate.com
Feb 16, 2022
Katie McGinty:
It is past time to close the pay gap
As a working mom of three teenage girls, I know how important it is to give women the tools they need to get ahead. It is past time to close the pay gap. In Pennsylvania, women still make 79 cents for every dollar made by a man in a similar job, and
struggle to climb the ladder if they take time off to raise a family. As Senator, I will work to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and fight for paid family leave because no one should have to choose between taking care of a loved one and keeping their job.
Source: 2016 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website KatieMcGinty.com
Aug 31, 2016
Ken Krawchuk:
Supports same-sex marriage
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Comfortable with same-sex marriage"?
A: Support. Who am I to stand in the way of true love?
Source: OnTheIssues interview: 2018 Pennsylvania Governor candidate
May 18, 2018
Malcolm Kenyatta:
Everyone has the right to love whomever they choose
Everyone has the right to love whomever they choose.
We must always pushback against hate and bigotry in our fight for equal rights in the LGBTQ communities across our state.
Source: 2021 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website MalcolmForPA.com
Mar 4, 2021
Malcolm Kenyatta:
BLM has to include Black queer folks & Black trans folks
He has worked hard to make sure that all Black lives are being considered in the phrase Black Lives Matter. "That also has to include Black queer folks and Black trans folks and Black disabled folks, and so there
have been multiple instances of violence against the Black trans community where I've said to the Black Caucus, hey let's remember this is our issue too."
Source: LGBTQ Nation News on 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race
Jun 28, 2020
Mehmet Oz:
Did program on "curing" gays; later blogged it was harmful
In 2012, he aired a program that looked at "both sides" of reparative therapy, the harmful practice based on the discredited claim that gay people can be "cured" of their homosexuality. He subsequently
said in a blog post that he thought that the form of psychological torture was "harmful," but he never said as much on the more widely watched show.
Source: LGBTQ Nation blog on 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race
Nov 30, 2021
Sean Parnell:
Fact check: claimed military colorblind almost 200 years
Parnell said that the military has been "colorblind" for "almost 200 years." The military was not formally desegregated until President Truman issued an executive order in 1948. "It's absolutely true," he said. "We have been a colorblind culture in the
United States military for almost 200 years. We've gotten a lot of things right. Keep your politics and your social experiments out of our military."
Source: FOX News Fact-Check on 2021 Pennsylvania Senate primary
Jun 26, 2021
Sharif Street:
Add LGBT protection in our non-discrimination laws
In many parts of Pennsylvania, it is perfectly legal for a person to be fired from their job simply because they are gay. We must add protection for the LGBT community in our non-discrimination laws. It is not only the right thing to do, but it makes
good business sense as well. More than 400 companies in Pennsylvania, including some of the largest employers, have non-discrimination policies in place that include sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website StreetForPA.com
Jun 27, 2022
Sharif Street:
Against discrimination based on religion or lack of one
All Pennsylvanians must be treated equally, regardless of their religious preference. As the first and only Muslim member of the Pennsylvania Senate, Sharif understands the importance of religious freedom and tolerance in our democracy.
He has a record of standing up against any attempts to limit religious freedom and supports policies to protect Pennsylvanians from discrimination on the basis of their religion, or their lack of one.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website StreetForPA.com
Jun 27, 2022
Tom Corbett:
Supports anti-LGBT-discrimination bill, but not gay marriage
For more than a decade, bills that would make it illegal to discriminate against gay, lesbian and transgender citizens in the workplace, housing and other aspects of Pennsylvania society have languished in the Legislature. But the most recent adaptation
of the bipartisan anti-discrimination bills got a boost of support from a seemingly unlikely conservative source: Gov. Tom Corbett."If that bill comes to my desk, I'll sign it," Corbett said; he decided to support the bills after recently learning
federal laws do not protect Pennsylvania's LGBT community from discrimination. "In the last few months in discussions it was made clear to me the federal law did not cover them," said Corbett.
"It doesn't change my position on the issue of marriage or
Pennsylvania's law on that," Corbett said. "But when it comes to discrimination in the workplace and employment and housing and other accommodations, I don't think there should be discrimination."
Source: The Morning Call on 2014 Pennsylvania Governor race
Dec 18, 2013
Tom Corbett:
Apologies for comparing gay marriage to incest
The public should not be surprised by Corbett's support of the bills outlawing discrimination based on sexual preference, said a Corbett strategist. Corbett does not tolerate discrimination, said the strategist, citing how the governor forced
Richard Allen out of his role as secretary of the Conservation and Natural Resources Department for using a racial reference in an email to his wife, also a state employee. "He has never tolerated any form of discrimination or insensitivity," said the
strategist. In October, Corbett issued public apologies after comparing gay marriage to a union between brother and sister during a television interview.
Now Corbett is looking for middle ground by taking a public stance in support of the bills and holding the line on the gay marriage ban, said another pundit.
Source: The Morning Call on 2014 Pennsylvania Governor race
Dec 18, 2013
Tom Corbett:
OpEd: Corbett knew federal LGBT laws; OK to change mind
I don't want to call Gov. Tom Corbett a liar. So let's just say that he strained credulity with his explanation for why he suddenly came out in favor of an anti-discrimination law to protect gays and lesbians. Corbett, who has previously staked out
conservative positions on social issues, said he was "coming out in support" of the bill after learning that federal law does not cover discrimination.Corbett, remember, was Pennsylvania's attorney general. Twice. The attorney general's job is to be
the chief law enforcement officer in the state. That means a general understanding of federal law, because sometimes state & federal laws overlap; sometimes they don't. And during Corbett's time as attorney general, there were two major pieces of federal
legislation in force regarding gay rights: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act.
It would be nice if a politician more often just told us: "I changed my mind." A willingness to bend to new evidence might be a bold show of leadership.
Source: Philadephia Magazine AdWatch 2014 Pennsylvania Governor race
Dec 20, 2013
Tom Wolf:
Recognize same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania
All four Democratic candidates would sign legislation to recognize same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania and
ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in matters of housing, employment and public accommodation.
Source: The Patriot News on 2014 Pennsylvania governor debate
May 10, 2014
Val Arkoosh:
Would be first woman physician elected to the Senate
Ask Val Arkoosh about the possibility that she could become the first Pennsylvania woman elected to the U.S. Senate, and she'll counter with a different historical factoid. "I would also be the first woman physician ever, from either party," she said.
Being one of the only women in male-dominated spaces isn't new for Arkoosh. It was like that in medical school, when she was chair of Drexel's anesthesiology department, and as the first woman to lead Montgomery County since it was founded in 1784.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website ValArkoosh.com
Jul 5, 2021
Val Arkoosh:
For Equality Act to protect LGBTQ+ community
Val believes our Commonwealth is strongest when everyone is treated equally under the law. Val stands with the LGBTQ+ community against discrimination and supports passage of the Equality Act to protect
LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians from discrimination in housing and employment. She also supports ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment and removing the time limit on the ratification process so women are finally treated equally under the constitution.
Source: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website ValArkoosh.com
Dec 19, 2021
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023