Philly State Politicians Ranked on First-Ever LGBT Legislative Scorecard

Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club just did us a solid by compiling its LGBT Legislative Scorecard. The document ranks Philly members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly based on their support for local LGBT legislation (i.e. It could prove a good guide when you go to the primary polls in May.)

The scores are based on each legislators’ stance on six House bills (anti-bullying, hate crimes, ENDA, repeal PA’s DOMA, the Marriage Equality Act, and a ban on conversion therapy), and five Senate bills (hate crimes, ENDA, marriage equality, conversion therapy, and name-change reform.) Here are some of the rather dismal findings:

• While there are several legislators in the region with an outstanding record of support for LGBT rights legislation, overall support amongst the delegation is still quite low. The aggregate score of everyone rated in the scorecard was just 43%.
• The aggregate score of all Democrats in the region is 64%, while Republicans faired much worse with a score of just 14%.
•  Of the five counties in the region, the Philadelphia delegation scored the highest with an aggregate score of 67%. Philadelphia was followed by Montgomery County with a score of 46%, Bucks County with a score of 25%, Chester County with a score of 14% and Delaware County bringing up the rear with just 10%.

Only 67 percent in Philly?! “I think we can do better,” said Policy & Advocacy Committee Co-Chair Micah Mahjoubian in a press release. “Now that we’ve completed this scorecard, and have a pretty good understanding of the playing field, Liberty City plans to get out on the field and work with legislators to continue moving our Commonwealth closer to full LGBT equality.”

A few lawmakers from Philly scored a perfect 100, meaning they signed on as co-sponsor for all the aforementioned bills. In the house, this includes Ed Neilson, Kevin Boyle, Mike O’Brien, Michelle Brownlee, Charelle Parker, Stephen Kinsey, and Mark Cohen. In the Senate Larry Farnese and Michael Stack scored a perfect 100. 

It’s also worth nothing the lowest scorers. In the Senate, Shirley Kitchen scored a measly 40 percent, but that’s nowhere near as bad as the handful of House reps who scored 17 percent. We’re looking at you, Bill Keller, Ron Waters, JP Miranda, and Dwight Evans.

For a clearer look at how each politician ranked in Philly and surrounding counties, download the compete scorecard here.