Bills We Are Proud Of
Senator Carolyn T. Comitta is a champion of LGBTQ+ equality and rights for the benefit of all communities, individuals and families across Pennsylvania.
As a member of West Chester Borough Council in 2006, she helped lead the effort to make West Chester the first municipality in Chester County — and among the first in the Commonwealth — to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
Later, during her tenure as Mayor of West Chester, Comitta celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges and presided over numerous weddings of loving same-sex couples.
In the state senate, Comitta serves on the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and continues to be a strong supporter and vocal advocate for legislation to ensure that all LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians are treated with respect, fairness, and equal rights under the law. That includes measures to protect LGBTQ+ students from discrimination, updating our laws to reflect the rights of same-sex couples to marry, and more.
My LGBTQ+ Legislation
SB 434 (Sen. Comitta)
While the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Obergefell v. Hodges made marriage equality the law of the land, outdated laws still remain on the books in Pennsylvania that define marriage as only being between a man and a woman. It is a disservice to all our fellow Pennsylvanians in loving, same-sex marriages to continue to allow this obsolete section of law to exist. This legislation will remove the prohibition of same sex marriage and affirm Pennsylvania’s commitment to equality for all.
Bill # Pending (Sen. Comitta)
Prohibits a service provider form denying any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent or delaying or denying the placement of a child based on the real or perceived disability, race, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or any communicable disease, including HIV. For the sake of the children waiting to be adopted and our friends and neighbors in the LGBTQ community, nondiscrimination laws are needed to protect the rights of families and allow more children the chance to find a permanent and loving home.
SB 496 (Sen. Comitta and Sen. L. Williams)
Educational Improvement and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credits (EITC & OSTC) provide scholarships that help Pennsylvania children afford a school other than their school district of residence. Unfortunately, LGBTQ+ students are frequently denied support by some private schools that choose to discriminate against them in the admissions process. This is completely unacceptable. I’ve partnered with Senator Lindsey Williams to introduce legislation to protect these students by requiring schools that receive funding through these programs to have a written policy of nondiscrimination.
Removing Administrative Barriers
SB 189 (Sen. Street)
Collects demographic data with the inclusion of a voluntary LGBTQ+ identifier question on state forms to gather critical data needed to combat anti-LGBTQ+ efforts and better serve LGBTQ+ individuals in the community.
SB 448 (Sen. Cappelletti)
Creates a new administrative name change process that is simpler and streamlined.
SB 521 (Sen. Muth)
Makes the publication requirements more affordable and creates privacy protections. Eliminates the publication requirement and make automatic sealing of records the default.
SB 437 (Sen. L. Williams)
Reduces the delays, cost, and confusion involved in the current name change process by requiring publicly available information on name change process, dedicated safe point of contact, and training.
SB 510 (Sen. Kearney)
Removes legal barriers and creates Name Change Assistance Grants for Transgender Pennsylvanians.
Economic Justice
SB 389 (Sen. Boscola)
Prohibits the denial of credit based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.
Hate Crime Prevention
SB 212 (Sen. Collett)
Prohibits the criminal justice loophole of the “Gay and trans panic” homicide defense
Bill # Pending (Sen. Boscola)
Expands the legal definition of ethnic intimidation to include and add the same protections for hate-based intimidation based on ancestry, sex, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, intellectual disability, physical or sensory disability or behavioral or mental health.
Social Justice
SB 388 (Sen. Boscola)
A Constitutional amendment to prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.
