Last week, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ+ Affairs was joined by state legislators and LGBTQ+ advocates to commemorate the 50 anniversary of an Executive Order signed by former Governor Milton Shapp to protect state employees from discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation — the first of its kind in the nation.
“I’m proud to be a Commonwealth employee and honored to be protected by these polices and by the advocates that made it happen,” said Ashleigh Strange, Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs. “Pennsylvanians that are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Non-binary, 2-spirit, and more are seen, believed, and protected here.”
For the event, the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project produced a historical exhibit honoring Governor Shapp and Pennsylvania’s history and leadership in protecting LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians, which was on display in the rotunda. This exhibit will now be on display at the State Library of Pennsylvania(opens in a new tab) through July 31st, and it is available to travel to venues across Pennsylvania.
In 1974, Governor Shapp was the first governor in the nation to meet with the LGBTQ+ community and to establish the first state task force in the nation devoted to developing public policy for the LGBTQ+ community. Just a year later, Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to prohibit discrimination toward LGBTQ+ state employees after Governor Shapp signed an Executive Order doing so — and later expanded the nondiscrimination policy to state contracting.
The Shapiro Administration is committed to honoring the legacy of leadership that began in Pennsylvania when it comes to protecting LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians — building a Commonwealth that is warm and welcoming for all Pennsylvanians, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, or who they love. Governor Shapiro has repeatedly called for the passage of the Fairness Act, a nondiscrimination law that ensures that LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians are ensured equal protection under the law.
Source: www.pa.gov