LGBTQ rights in Pennsylvania

LGBTQ rights in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (US)
StatusLegal since 1980
(Legislative repeal in 1995 and 2022)
Gender identityTransgender individuals allowed to change legal gender on birth certificate and driver's license
Discrimination protectionsSexual orientation and gender identity protections
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsSame-sex marriage since 2014
AdoptionYes

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Pennsylvania. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Pennsylvania was the final Mid-Atlantic state without same-sex marriage, indeed lacking any form of same-sex recognition law until its statutory ban was overturned on May 20, 2014.

Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is not explicitly banned in the state, though some cities and counties ban such discrimination, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie and Reading (the five most populous cities in the state). Some cities and counties within Pennsylvania also ban conversion therapy on minors. In August 2018, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission interpreted existing state law covering sex discrimination as including the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity, effectively banning discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing, education, and public accommodation.[1]

On June 15, 2020, in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is discrimination on the basis of sex, and Title VII therefore protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination.

Both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have vibrant LGBT communities, with pride parades having been held since the 1970s and attracting more than 100,000 attendees as of 2017.[2][3] It’s been reported in June 2024, that Pittsburgh has a housing zone “48 blocks project” - due to open in 2025, for comfortable non-profit living LGBT seniors.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference philly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Pittsburgh pride parade celebrates community's diversity". TribLive.com. June 11, 2017.
  3. ^ "Philly shows its colors in 2017 LGBT Pride Parade". Newsworks.org. June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  4. ^ [1]