Borough Moves Forward on Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

Before making the motion, Newtown Borough Council Member Gerard O’Malley quoted the words of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

That motion, to authorize the borough’s solicitor to draft an anti-discrimination ordinance, was passed by the Borough Council.

The vote, which occurred during the Tuesday meeting, will get the ball rolling on an ordinance that would expand protections against discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Depending on how long the process takes, Newtown Borough could become the 23rd municipality in the state to pass an ordinance that protects all people, despite their sexual orientation or gender identity, from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Current state law does not include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Borough officials said they will use an ordinance passed in Doylestown Borough last year as their guide when drafting their version.

Doylestown’s ordinance sets up a local volunteer Human Relations Commission to conduct mediation in circumstances of discrimination. Council President Julia Woldorf has explained it as a non-adversarial way of resolving differences as opposed to making it a legal battle.

Council Vice President Perry Warren said he “wholeheartedly” supports the measure. “I view it as an opportunity for this borough and its Council to step up and take a leadership role,” he said.

However, not all Council members were as enthusiastic.

Bob Walker questioned the urgency of the issue and requested that more time be taken to consider what the borough is looking for in a draft of such an ordinance. He declined to take a position on the motion, voting only “present.”

Council member John Burke voted no to the motion, saying he believed the community needed more time to consider the issue and weigh in.

But Woldorf called it a logical “first step” to have the solicitor prepare a draft.

“I am proposing we ask our solicitor to give us something to start with. I don’t think it’s rushing anything, I think it's bringing clarity to an issue and having something we can start from,” she said.

Once the solicitor prepares a draft of the ordinance, it will follow the standard approval procedure, which includes review by Council and the public, an advertisement period and a public hearing.

There’s a statewide movement among municipalities to pass ordinances at the local level that expand human rights protections, Woldorf said last week.

Other municipalities in addition to Doylestown have passed similar ordinances, including Allegheny County, Easton, Harrisburg, Haverford, New Hope, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Swarthmore Borough, Bethlehem and more.