News Release
For Immediate Release: May 3, 2016
Contact: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355
Just What Impact Will Executive Orders Have — No Answers from the Governor Yet
(Harrisburg) — On April 7th PA Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order which extended Governor Ed Rendell’s executive order which added sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the state’s hiring practices. A second one was issued that impacted those who contract with the state and receive grants from the state. Four days later the American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide advocacy group, faxed the governor seeking clarification. Almost one month later, the AFA of PA has not received the clarification being sought.
The fax asked specific questions:
Have you found any evidence of “discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expression and identity in the executive branch in state government”? Didn’t you just have a transgender unanimously confirmed as PA’s Physician General?
The second executive order extends to those who receive grants from the State. So . . . you are forcing Christian schools, the YMCA or any organization that receives money from the state to open their restrooms and locker facilities to all genders? To hire those who do not hold to their religious views? You are forcing open the women’s restroom and locker room doors to men who only think they are women, thus taking away the privacy of women and young girls.
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“We are still waiting for Governor Wolf to answer these specific questions. His stated hope is to use these executive orders to put pressure on the Republicans in the House and Senate to pass HB 1510 and SB 974. – the misnamed Pennsylvania Fairness Act. Wolf doesn’t care about the privacy and safety of women and girls in the women’s restroom, locker and shower facilities. Daily it becomes apparent that his main goal is to appease the homosexual and transgender activists who helped get him into office. According to a recent Gallup poll, this group only makes up about 2.7 percent of PA’s population — well below the national average,” commented Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.
Governor Wolf again brought William Penn into the debate, as a means to justify the executive orders. As the AFA of PA noted in their fax, ” No, this is not the vision William Penn had for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He understood that engaging in homosexual acts is sin.”
“These executive orders place more restrictions on businesses that contract with the state than North Carolina’s new law does. Wolf is making demands that businesses change policies, while North Carolina allows businesses to maintain their current non-discrimination policies or change them as they see fit. Wolf is using the heavy hand of government, to demand businesses that contract with the state or organizations that receive grants comply with his vision for Pennsylvania. This does not help make Pennsylvania a business-friendly place,” Gramley concluded.
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