PHILADELPHIA, PA - Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Lauren P. McKenna released the following statement in support of the passage of House Bill 300, or the Fairness Act, which was recently reintroduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. If passed, the legislation would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression in the Commonwealth: "Anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQIA Pennsylvanians is long overdue. Lawmakers and gay rights advocates have been pushing for this legislation for decades; our Association has passed at least three separate resolutions in support of it, the earliest being in 1999. The Commonwealth currently has the weakest protections for LGBTQIA individuals of any state in this region.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - March 19, 2021 - The Philadelphia Bar Association today released the following statement regarding the violence in the Asian community and our solidarity with the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA): "The Philadelphia Bar Association stands in solidarity with our colleagues and friends of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania in offering our condolences to the families, friends, and communities of the eight victims, including six members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, murdered in this week's shootings in metro Atlanta. We strongly condemn the rising tide of hate and violence against the AAPI community. The scale and frequency of targeted violence against communities of color is unacceptable. We urge law enforcement officials to hold persons who perpetuate this violence accountable for their actions and recognize these violent acts as the hate crimes they are.