News Release
For Immediate Release:  November 17, 2010

Contact:  Diane Gramley   1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355

Lancaster County Commissioners Vote to Abolish Human Relations Commission

(Harrisburg) –  The Lancaster County Commissioners just voted this morning to save that county’s taxpayers over $470,000 a year by abolishing the Human Relations Commission (HRC).  The Commissioners were concerned about county taxpayers being forced to pay for a duplication of services – a statewide Human Relations Commission as well as one on the county level.  The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide traditional values group, commends their decision.

The AFA of PA contacted County Commissioners Martin and Stuckey on August 4th with additional information concerning statements made in Doylestown (Bucks County) by openly homosexual Chairman of the PA Human Relations Commission, Stephen Glassman.  He worked extensively in Doylestown to “convince” them passage of a borough human relations ordinance and creation of a local human relations commission was necessary.   A July 20thIntelligencer article says, “And Glassman said the borough would only have to worry about cases involving discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression; it could forward all other discrimination cases such as race, age, handicaps and so on, to his commission.”

“Stephen Glassman was involved in trying to convince the Lancaster County Commissioners that dismantling the HRC was a bad idea, but according to Glassman’s July 20th statement to the Doylestown Borough Council, what Lancaster has done is the right thing and he welcomes them to forward any civil rights complaints to his state office in Harrisburg.  Increasingly we see homosexual activists try to use these Commissions to get special rights for those involved in that lifestyle.  A June 29th meeting in Lancaster is a perfect example, as city of Lancaster homosexual activists tried to force the County Commissioners to not only keep the HRC, but to expand it to include sexual orientation. The city of Lancaster already has such language in its human rights ordinance, but that was not good enough,” remarked Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.

Further homosexual activist groups from the Philadelphia area exerted pressure on the Commissioners to keep the HRC.

“Dismantling the County Commission does not mean more discrimination will take place; it does not take away anyone’s civil rights as is being claimed.  What this decision means is that two of Lancaster County’s three commissioners are fiscally conservative and concerned about where taxpayer dollars are spent,” Gramley noted.

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