Abington to Advertise Anti-Discrimination Hearing

The Abington Board of Commissioners OK’d a motion late last night allowing for the advertisement of a public hearing to consider an anti-discrimination ordinance; the motion passed by a vote of 11-4 and the hearing will be held Thursday April 12.

Abington Board of Commissioners President Carol DiJoseph and Public Affairs Committee chairman Robert Wachter both stressed that the agenda item was to discuss whether the hearing for the proposed ordinance should be advertised, not whether the township should adopt the ordinance.

But it didn’t matter.

Many residents stepped up to the lectern to lambast the proposed ordinance, which would prohibit discrimination in the township on the basis of sexual orientation, sexual identity or sexual expression; the ordinance, should it pass, would also establish a human relations commission.

Read the entire proposed ordinance in the PDF section of the article.

Some residents said they had problems with the proposed ordinance because of their own religious beliefs, and some said that Abington doesn't have a problem when it comes to discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Resident and Abington student Faith Geating said, “I believe that this anti-discrimination law is in violation of my freedom … I do believe that, as a person that lives in this community, that you cannot ask me to subside my core beliefs when you require me to … live with the people that I don’t agree with morally. They have made their moral decisions, and I have made mine. And I believe that forcing me to accept this goes against my fundamental rights of freedom.”

Her father, Bryant Geating, echoed her remarks shortly after she spoke ... and said jokingly that he didn't persuade her to speak out on the topic.

Some residents who seemed as if they were going to support the advertising of the hearing said the ordinance needed to be sent back to the drawing board. One of those residents was Thomas Dwyer. He said he did not support the motion to advertise the hearing to consider the ordinance because he thought the “exceptions” written in the ordinance essentially squashed the reason for having such an ordinance. 

“I’m actually against it,” Dwyer said. “In summation, these exceptions seem to codify discrimination — and there’s something very troubling about that.”

The exceptions, from the proposed ordinance:

Nothing in this ordinance shall bar any religious or denominational institution or organization or any charitable or educational organization which is operated, supervised or controlled by or in connection with any religious organization or any bona fide private or fraternal organization from giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination or to members of such private or fraternal organization from making such selection as is calculated by such organization to promote the religious principles or the aims, purposes or fraternal principles for which it is established or maintained. Nor shall it apply to rental of rooms in a landlord-occupied rooming house with a common entrance, nor with respect to discrimination based on sex, the advertising, the rental or leasing of housing accommodations in a single-sex dormitory or rooms in one’s personal residence in which common living areas are shared.

Resident Donald Down said the ambiguity in the exceptions "did more harm than good," and asked the commissioners to revise the ordinance.

Resident Bob Sklaroff asked for a fiscal note to be attached to the proposed ordinance (and said that he thought every resolution should be accompanied by such a note). Sklaroff also said the agenda item should be tabled.

There were a few residents who stood by the proposed ordinance as-written.

Resident Joel Petroff held up his newly-acquired “Proud to be in Abington” bumper sticker (which were dispensed earlier in the evening by the President of Penn State Abington) and said, “I was given a very nice ‘Proud to be in Abington' sticker, and I would like to stay proud … You must, must advertise for this [hearing.]”

And resident Brendan Kirk simply said, “I’m for this motion,” and sat down.

Many of the comments throughout the evening garnered applause; Kirk's certainly did for its brevity.

Commissioner Lori Schreiber said the proposed ordinance had been revised eight times in two years and added that the “exceptions” in the ordinance were based on the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

Commissioners Richard Gaglianese, Dennis Zappone, Jay O’Connor and Carol Gillespie voted “no” on the agenda item. 

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