UPDATED: LGBT Anti-Discrimination Hearing Wednesday Night

Editor's Note: The Administrative and Human Resources Committee presentation at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 15, was prolonged by a multitude of unexpected details and concerns over the first draft of the proposed legislation.

The board unanimously tabled a motion to instruct the Township Secretary to advertise for the passage of the new ordinance, and a three person subcommittee – made up of Commissioners Brian Gordon, Bruce Reed and Phil Rosenzweig – was formed to review concerns brought up in over two hours of comment.

A subcommittee hopes to have a new draft of the ordinance, which was unanimously supported in concept, by the end of the month.

Details of the discussion can be found here on Patch.

The ongoing push for Lower Merion to join the handful of municipalities in Pennsylvania to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression will crescendo Wednesday night.

On the agenda for the Administrative and Human Resources Committee scheduled for Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. is the first draft of a proposed ordinance that will protect lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons from employment, housing and public accomodations related discrimination. The proposal can be reviewed in full here and on the Lower Merion Township Web site, and a detailed analysis of the bill can be found in previous coverage on Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood Patch.

Board of Commissioners Vice-President Mark Taylor told the Democratic Committee of Lower Merion and Narberth on Tuesday, Sept. 14 that he expects the measure to pass based on a majority of support, but the final version may need a few rounds of tweaks before it is enacted as law. "The way it is currently written might need to be changed somewhat, but the intent is to pass the ordinance," Taylor said.

He also warned that he expects some level of opposition from Republican commissioners based on the cost of the proposal (mostly related to hourly attorney fees paid to the township solicitor for sitting in on hearings related to discrimination claims heard by the township), and also from groups who oppose granting more rights protections for the LGBT community.

"Before you assume everything is rosy, unidentified individuals against the proposal have been calling commissioners expressing their outrage against the matter," Taylor said.

Political group, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania issued a press release earlier this week denouncing Lower Merion's efforts to pass the anti-discrimination law, saying that the measure would lead to frivilous suits and dangerous consequences.

The meeting to discuss the draft ordinance will be open to the public and include a period for public comments. Due to the nature of committee meeting scheduling, the anti-discrimination discussion might not start on time, according to Taylor, but should begin between 6:30 and 7 p.m. The meeting will be held in the second floor board room at the Township Administrative Building on 75 East Lancaster Ave.