News Release: Philadelphia’s Influence on Lancaster

News Release
For Immediate Release:  July 29, 2010
Contact:  Diane Gramley  1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355

Philadelphia Plans to Take Over the World, or at least Pennsylvania!

(Harrisburg) – As the Lancaster County Commissioners meet tonight to discuss the possible dismantling of the county human relations commission, they have a formidable enemy – homosexual activists from Philadelphia.  The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide traditional values group, has alerted citizens in the county about their ‘adoption’ by Philadelphia homosexuals and their effort to influence the commissioners.  The AFA of PA also notes that this action is even worse than Pittsburgh homosexual activists pressuring the Allegheny County Council last year to create a county human relations commission and add ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ to their human relations ordinance.  At least Pittsburgh is in Allegheny County!

Additionally, Lancaster homosexuals, with the help of Philadelphia homosexuals, are pressuring the county commissioners to add ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ to the Lancaster County human relations ordinance.  As in the case of Pittsburgh, the City of Lancaster already has such language contained in its ordinance.   On Tuesday the Lancaster City Council narrowly passed a resolution in support of the Lancaster County Human Relations Commission AND the addition of ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ to the county ordinance.

In a recent Philadelphia Gay News article Ted Martin, Executive Director of Equality Pennsylvania, said “involvement from across the state, including Philadelphia, is needed to demonstrate to the commissioners the wide-ranging impact the elimination of the panel could have.”

Martin continues, “Philadelphia is part of the state just like everybody else. When a county as large as Lancaster, a county as important as Lancaster, and a county that’s rapidly becoming a suburb of Philadelphia, does something like this, it affects everybody.

“Last year at least it was homosexual activists from within Allegheny County and not those two counties away that were pressuring the council.   I guess Philadelphia activists are forgetting that Delaware and Chester counties lie between them and Lancaster County.  The citizens of Lancaster County do not consider themselves a suburb of Philadelphia, nor do they want to be.  Tourists who come to Lancaster County for its uniqueness have no idea this idyllic paradise is being threatened,” remarked Diane Gramley, President of the AFA of PA.

On Saturday homosexuals and their ‘allies’ held a rally in downtown Lancaster, the most liberal part of the county, opposing the elimination of the county human relations commission.  Another rally is scheduled two hours before the commissioners’ meeting tonight.  The usual suspects participated in or endorsed the rallies:  the Lancaster County Council of Churches, the Lancaster County Democratic Committee, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“The elimination of the human relations commission would save the county $470,000 per year.  Yet those organizing the rallies are saying its elimination would take away the protections of everyone’s civil rights.  What an outrageous lie!  The work done by the county commission can be accomplished by the state human relations commission.  Trying to make this a civil rights issue is typical of homosexual activists,” Gramley further stated.

A July 27^th lancasteronline.com article reported that “In 2009, the commission received 150 complaints, 28 of which led to fact-finding conferences. The commission closed 67 cases, more than half of which were found to have ‘no probable cause.’”

“ I have to agree with the commissioners: this seems to be a waste of tax dollars and the county could better be served by eliminating the Lancaster County Human Relations Commission,” concluded Gramley.

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