Dear West Virginia: Pass Bill Prohibiting Anti-Gay Discrimination

by Brandon Miller · 2011-02-25 07:00:00 UTC
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Back in December, Change.org wrote about a harassment case at Massey Energy. A West Virginia man, Sam Hall, complained of anti-gay harassment over a five year span. He experienced verbal abuse and lewd gestures from coworkers and supervisors alike. And now he is urging lawmakers in his state to approve a measure that would provide discrimination protections to LGBT people in West Virginia.

"If the labor laws would have been amended earlier to contain sexual orientation discrimination, myself as well as other gay West Virginians would have not to endure such demeaning and inexcusable behavior," Hall said at a press conference. "Why, as West Virginians, do you allow this type of behavior and harassment to occur and then go unpunished?"

Our first Change.org petition -- which you can sign here -- targets Massey Energy directly. But the issue is larger than just one company, and Sam Hall is creating a movement. Supporters -- including Acting Senate President Jeff Kessler and Delegate Barbara Fleischauer -- chanted "Stand with Sam" at the aforementioned press conference. Kessler is a chief sponsor of a measure that would add sexual orientation to the state's discrimination laws.

Unsurprisingly, there is opposition. I mean, hey, what is a discrimination law without a few nutjobs? The West Virginia Family Foundation denounced the Senate bill. They called a House version "catastrophic."

"What we have witnessed here today is a brazen and open promotion of the deviant behavior and lifestyle of homosexuality by elected leaders," West Virginia Family Foundation President Kevin McCoy said in a statement. "These bills will require acceptance of homosexuality to be taught in West Virginia's public schools."

The Bill in question (SB226, HB2045) would make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations. Sign our petition here to help get this bill passed!

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Brandon Miller is a freelance writer and editor from Toronto, Ontario.

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