News Release
For Immediate Release: August 7, 2018
Contact: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078
Nation’s Most Liberal Governor Has Again Proven He Deserves the Title
(Harrisburg) In mid-2015 PA Governor Tom Wolf was deemed the nation’s most liberal governor and his actions this week confirmed that he still deserves that title. On August 6th he signed an executive order creating the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs – the only in the nation. This will join the governor’s other existing commissions — African American Affairs, Asian Pacific American Affairs, Latino Affairs and the Commission for Women. The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide advocacy group, has contacted Governor Wolf outlining reasons why this is a bad idea.
“Each of the other commissions in existence target a specific group of people even as the new LGBTQ Commission does. However, the big difference is the other commissions cater to the needs of those with unchangeable characteristics i.e. skin color, ethnicity and sex unlike the LGBTQ Commission which caters to those with changeable characteristics. No one is born lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer – it’s a choice. The thousands of ex-gays and those detransitioning prove that point,” commented Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.
The reasons submitted to Governor Wolf are as follows:
Following are several reasons why your misguided Commission on LGBT Affairs is not needed and dangerous:
- This commission will specifically target those with deeply held religious beliefs that homosexuality and transgenderism are wrong.
- If laws are passed which the members of this commission envision, the economy of PA will be harmed not helped.
- The commission is not about equality, but about forcing the normalization of lifestyles on Pennsylvanians. Lifestyles which the majority of Pennsylvanians do not approve.
- Even though the 40 members of this commission will receive no compensation, they will receive travel reimbursement. How much will this cost PA taxpayers?
- These commission members will become lobbyists pushing their agenda in the halls of the Capitol and pressuring our elected officials to “toe” the line when it comes to LGBT issues.
- The commission is to be the “Commonwealth’s advocate agency for its LGBTQ citizens.” According to findings from a 2013 study released by the Williams Institute and Gallup, 2.7 % of Pennsylvanians identify as LGBT. This commission is to advocate for 2.7 % of the population? Does the government have nothing better to do?
- No one is born gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer. Lisa Diamond, top researcher with the American Psychological Association and lesbian activist has acknowledged that gays are not “born that way.”
- According to “Pride and Prejudice: Employment Discrimination against Openly Gay Men in the United States,” published in the September 2011 issue of the American Journal of Sociology, in New York, Pennsylvania, and California, the gap between callbacks for gay and heterosexual “applicants” was insignificant.
“This effort again shows Governor Wolf’s misunderstanding of what the average Pennsylvanian wants. He obviously thinks normalizing homosexuality and allowing men in women’s bathrooms is at the top of the list. Pennsylvanians are a fair-minded people, but they do not want this agenda pushed on them and that is the exact purpose of this commission,” concluded Gramley.
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