Other HRC Developments:

HRC Thank You's

Read the Full Ordinance as a PDF

Council Votes 6-1 for ordinance 2/26/02

Council tables HRC ordinance again, but... 1/8/02

HRC has first reading by County Council on 12/18/01

HRC withdraws plan to de-fund HRC 11/27/01

Joint Council/HRC Meeting 9/28/01

HRC reaffirms recommendation to include Sexual orientation 9/10/01

HRC Agrees to Review Inclusion of Sexual Orientation Despite Pressure by County Council 8/13/01

County Council Tables Hearing of Proposed Ordinance 3/6/01

HRC Unanimously Votes to Include Sexual Orientation 1/29/01

HRC Ordinance FAQ's

How to Contact County Council

Sample Letters to Council Members

County Council Withdraws Suggestion to Cut Human Relations Commission Funding 11/27/01

by Mike Miller 11/29/01

Tues Nov 27th, the Erie County Human relations Commission (HRC) dodged a bullet. Council had discussed 11/26 putting on the agenda a vote 11/27 to possibly cut funding to the body. This would have effectively ended the HRC and its nearly year-long attempt to get Council to enact a local ordinance which would finally include protections for people from prejudice on the basis of sexual orientation.

Before opening the filled-to-capacity Council Chamber to public comment, Council Chairman James B. Terrill announced that the planned vote to defund the HRC was pulled from the agenda. Still, a half dozen people spoke on the importance of continuing to fund the HRC, and even increasing funding. More than a dozen people wore badges that read "Protect Civil Rights!! Fund the Erie County Human Relations Commission"

First to speak was HRC Chair Bill McCarthy who addressed the matter of equivalency of HRC functions at the state level. Council Member Carol J Loll listed equivalency of services at the state level as a justification for her suggestion to cut funding for the HRC (See Erie Times News article... near end of article). Commission Chair McCarthy reminded the Council that the average person with a valid complaint of discrimination at the local level could scarcely afford in the time and cost of petitioning state agancies. He said that in most instances that "justice delayed is justice denied." McCarthy also made it clear that all the changes to local ordinance wording previously asked for by Council were in place and that Council would effectively have a copy of ordinance suitable for voting on by the following Friday.

The Pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church next spoke exhorting Council not only to maintain funding to the HRC but to double it citing Erie's looming economic downturn as making the HRC a greater necessity for so the area's poor and oppressed who already have so few resources to combat prejudice.

Monsignor Vincent M Elright essentially agreed saying "We need the HRC more than ever."

Reid McFarland, Head of the HRC Advisory Committee, returned to the topic of state equivalency. He confessed that the functions of the local HRC were indeed deferrable to the state level. But he also pointed out that a sizable chunk of the county's federal funding (in the neighborhood of $7 million) were earmarked to be administered in accordance with HUD guidelines Guidelines which mandate that the county not only analyse impediments to equal access to housing and accommodations but take active steps to reduce those impediments. By not funding the HRC, the county could be perceived as acting against the spirit of the guidelines of federal agencies/programs which contributed to the county's coffers, possibly endangering future contributions.

A final speaker, a black woman, roused the audience to applause. She talked of how she had been hearing the words "United We Stand" a lot lately. How the word united in that statement should be intended to include the breadth of diversity of many different groups of Americans, including different races, beliefs and sexual orientations. And when diverse groups were singled out and discriminated against, how hollow and hypocritical the words "United We Stand" became. That cutting funding to the HRC would be perpetuating hypocrisy, bigotry and violence in Erie which she claimed had become "the 8th most segregated city in the nation."

Other people spoke, mainly about the proposed Tax increases and about other programs threatened to be cut by the Council, but not one person spoke against maintaining funding to the HRC.

After public comment, Council member Fiore Leone made a statement, suggesting a need to review the guidelines currently empowering the HRC to make it a "more viable unit", and seriously considering giving the body increased funding. He said that these steps needed to be taken soon because discrimination are real problems needing to be addressed in this county.

After a round of applause, motions were made to pass minutes and call roll, and set out the agenda for what would be a long work-like meeting of the Council as it dealt with many weighty financial issues including the one and one quarter millage tax increase to local homeowners. But when the evening was done the proposal to cut funding to the HRC was withdrawn.

(See Erie Times-News follow-up... near end of article).

From the stabdpoint of Erie's GLBT community, we're still not out of the wods yet. The County Council still has yet to pass the local ordinance handed up to it by the HRC which includes sexual orientation as a class protected from discrimination in emploment and public accommodations. Even though the ordinance is reportedly ready to be heard and voted on by Council, it's still very possible that they could delay voting on the ordinance until County Executive Rick Schenker gets into office. And there's a good chance that Schenker would veto the sexual orientation-inclusive ordinance which, to over-ride would require a margin of 5 Council members to pass instead of a simple majority.

Schenker has gone on record saying that gay people live a "depraved lifestyle" and has served as the head of the Pensylvania Branch of the anti-gay Christian Coalition as well as serving as statewide head of the Pat Robertson Presidential campaign. You remember Pat Robertson was the one nodding in agreement as Jerry Falwell went on his program and claimed that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center were caused by lesbians, gays, abortionists and the ACLU among others.

So the sooner the ordinance is passed, the better.

As of this writing the ordinance was not on the Council's agenda to be heard let alone voted on. If you would like to be informed of any impending Council meetings or votes, please contact Mike Mahler at 814-456-9833, 1115 West 7th Street, Erie PA 16502 or at info@eriegaynews.com.

You can also write your Council Person and tell them how important it is for them to facilitate funding of the HRC and to vote for the ordinance including sexual orientation, and soon.

© Erie Gay News