Bill To Remove 'Homosexuality' From PA Crimes Code Passes Senate And Heads To Governor

HARRISBURG — A bill to remove the antiquated term 'homosexuality' from Pennsylvania's criminal statutes has unanimously passed the state Senate and now heads to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature.

The proposal, House Bill 2125, previously passed the House of Representatives, also in a unanimous fashion.

The legislation would remove and replace the term 'homosexuality' from Pennsylvania's Consolidated Statutes.

It was sponsored by Republican State Rep. Todd Stephens, who represents communities in Montgomery County.

"This was a long time coming — too long," Stephens said in a statement Thursday after his chamber OK'd the measure. "No one in the LGBTQ community should be made a criminal because of who they love. Yet, even as we reformed our marriage laws, our statutes remained stuck in the past. I'm thrilled this passed unanimously in both chambers and will be signed into law."

Gov. Tom Wolf's spokesperson, Elizabeth Rementer, previously told Patch that the governor supports the measure and would sign it into law.

"It's long overdue," Rementer told Patch in June, after the House passed the legislation.

On Friday, Rementer said the governor still has plans to back the measure, but she was not immediately sure when it would be getting to his desk. She said she expected it to soon arrive on Wolf's desk for his consideration.

The bill removes references to the term 'homosexuality' within definitions of prohibited sexual acts in the Crimes Code, and it also amends the definitions of "sexual activity" and "sexual conduct" by removing surplus language to remove certain ambiguities in the current state law, according to the Pennsylvania House GOP, which shared the news Thursday of the Senate passing the measure.

Preston Heldibridle, executive director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, said that organization was proud to have supported Stephens in his goal to "correct a grave wrong under our law — especially at a time when many LGBTQ Pennsylvanians feel they face an uncertain time."

"However, there is much more work to be done to make our commonwealth safe and welcoming for all," Heldibridle said in a statement. "Now that the General Assembly has agreed, unanimously in both chambers, that LGBTQ Pennsylvanians are not obscene they must take the next step to ensure equal dignity under the law by passing LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections."

Stephens said he was spurred to introduce this legislation since "love should never be illegal."