HARRISBURG, Pa. — A new statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization is coming to Harrisburg, with a Lehigh Valley representative on its board.
LGBTQ community leaders in Pennsylvania last week announced the formation of Keystone Equality.
The organization will endorse candidates for public office, mobilize LGBTQ voters, advocate for pro-LGBTQ legislation and advocate against anti-LGBTQ legislation.
- LGBTQ community leaders in Pennsylvania formed Keystone Equality, a new statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization
- The organization was formed because of the “urgent need for statewide LGBTQ political mobilization,” according to the news release
- Orefield resident Corinne Goodwin will be the Lehigh Valley representative on the board. She also is the executive director of the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project
Orefield resident Corinne Goodwin will be the Lehigh Valley representative on the board.
Goodwin is the executive director of the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project, a nonprofit organization that provides services to transgender residents of 16 counties in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Keystone Equality was formed because of the “urgent need for statewide LGBTQ political mobilization,” according to the news release about the organization’s formation.
“To successfully advance LGBTQ inclusion in public policy, Keystone Equality will work to ensure LGBTQ community supporters are elected, that LGBTQ voters participate in every election and that public officials recognize the political power of LGBTQ Pennsylvanians,” the release said.
Pennsylvania is home to more than 500,000 LGBTQ people, according to the release.
The organization was incorporated in November, met in December to adopt its bylaws and elected its officers in January, the release said.
Corinne Goodwin
Goodwin said she and others decided to start Keystone Equality because there have been so many anti-LGBTQ laws passed across the country and efforts to pass similar laws in Pennsylvania.
“I personally view the sort of current environment that we are in as a pushback from a minority of people who are afraid that the world is changing around them,” Goodwin said.
“We want to make sure that those days never, ever come back. So the first thing is, learn our history, learn how far we have come, and then learn and explore ways that you can make a contribution so that we can move ahead.”Corinne Goodwin, Lehigh Valley representative on the board of Keystone Equality
Goodwin said it is important to remember how far LGBTQ rights have come in the past few decades. For example, it used to be illegal in Pennsylvania for trans women to wear women’s clothing on the street.
“We want to make sure that those days never, ever come back,” Goodwin said. “So the first thing is, learn our history, learn how far we have come, and then learn and explore ways that you can make a contribution so that we can move ahead.”
Goodwin emphasized that Keystone Equality is a nonpartisan organization willing to work with any politicians, regardless of their party.
“We don't care if you're a Republican, you're a Democrat, you're an Independent or you're anything else,” Goodwin said. “If you have a record, and you have public statements that support LGBTQ people and the issues that are important to them, we're going to work with you, and we're going to endorse you.”
Anti-LGBTQ legislation in Pa.
There have been several high-profile bills regarding LGBTQ people recently proposed in the Pennsylvania Legislature.
In June, the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee moved SB 1278, which would prohibit any acknowledgment of gay or trans people in grades K-5 in schools.
The Pennsylvania branch of the ACLU opposed the bill. The organization also wrote that the bill was more restrictive than Florida’s well-known Don’t Say Gay bill, which was limited to K-3 instruction.
Also in June, the state House and Senate passed a bill that would ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Tom Wolf.
Last week, state Sen. Doug Mastriano filed a bill sponsorship memo for a bill that would classify drag performances as “adult-oriented” businesses under state law.
