News Release
For Immediate Release: September 30, 2014
Contact: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078
Discrimination Charges Against Inne Would Stick If HB 300 Passes
(Harrisburg) — In July the Inne at the Abingtons did not permit the booking of a same-sex so-called wedding at their facility citing the owners religious beliefs as the reason. A social media firestorm ensued, leading to one heterosexual couple cancelling their event and demanding a refund of the non-refundable deposit and further demanding three times that amount for ‘damages.’ The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide advocate for religious liberty, asserted at the time that the resulting lawsuit was the true reason for the push for passage of SB and HB 300, which would add “sexual orientation and gender identity or expression” to the PA Human Relations Act.
“Homosexual activists have been very successful in labeling their efforts for so-called equality as a fight for civil rights and in the process trampling anyone who voiced a different opinion. Civil rights protections have historically been extended to those with immutable characteristics, political powerlessness and a history of pervasive discrimination — none of which apply to homosexuals. However, that has not prevented homosexual activists from pursuing the passage of bills such as HB or SB 300 and the success of the Inne at the Abingtons in the lawsuit will not stop their perverted efforts to seek special protections simply because of the sexual activity in which they engage,” noted Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.
Those pushing for passage of these bills have distorted the facts, claiming homosexuals can lose their jobs or be evicted from their apartments simply because of “who they are,” but never presenting any recent documentable evidence such has actually occurred in PA. However, findings from “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 found: In New York, Pennsylvania, and California, the gap between callbacks for gay and heterosexual “applicants” was insignificant.
“The purpose for adding ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ to the PA Human Relations Act is simple –to force those with deeply held religious beliefs to celebrate the homosexual lifestyle. Homosexual activists are not content that businesses such as the Inne at the Abingtons will serve those who identity as homosexual during birthday and other celebrations, but demand they ignore their Christian beliefs that marriage is only between one man and one woman and celebrate their so-called marriages. This is wrong and un-American,” Gramley concluded.
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