No Discrimination in Cheltenham

In a vote of 6-1, the Board of Commissioners in Cheltenham approved an important anti-discrimination bill last night. The “Cheltenham Township Human Relations Ordinance,” as it’s called, essentially prevents anti-gay discrimination on all levels of government and business thanks to the creation of a human relations commission. There are only a few exceptions to the ordinance as relating to religious institutions.

It states:

The ordinance provides: “for the creation of the Cheltenham Township Human Relations Commission, and to prohibit discrimination in housing, accommodations, commercial property, employment and public accommodations on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, age, religious creed, ancestry, sex, national origin, handicap or disability, use of guide or support animals … or because of an individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression …”

Cheltenham Commissioner Charles McKeown was the only board member to oppose the ordinance.

But thanks to the overwhelming support and a push from Equality Pennsylvania, the state now has 27 non-discrimination laws on the books.

Click here to read the ordinance in its entirity.