The chants were emphatic and enthusiastic outside the state Capitol in Harrisburg Saturday.
What do we want Marriage equality. When do we want it Now
Gay marriage supporters from all over Pennsylvania came for the first Statewide Rally for Equality. They listened to speeches and marched around the Capitol building waving rainbow flags and carrying Equality Now signs.
The rally comes on the cusp of what could be a watershed moment in the debate over same sex marriage. Next week the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on cases that could broadly expand the rights of gay Americans to marry.
The event also was designed to support state legislation (Pa. House and Senate Bills 300 Pa. House Bill 719 and Pa. House Bill 156) which would provide marriage equality and an end to discrimination and bullying in the LGBT community.
Dawn Sears 29 and Jen Morley 36 drove four and a half hours from Warren Pa. for the marriage equality rally for one simple reason.
So we can get married Morley said. That s what it comes down to. We want to have kids and be married before that.
The couple has been together for almost two years. This was Sears first rally but Morley has been to a few others including the Millennium March in Washington D.C. about 13 years ago. This rally was a bit different from the others she has been to because it was the first one in which she didn t see any protesters.
I was shocked she said. I anticipated somebody. I was ready to go. I had backup bible quotes ready to battle with them but I didn t have to. That s a good thing.
Sixteen speakers spoke at the rally included Harrisburg City Controller Dan Miller Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Hanger members of Marriage Equality for Pennsylvania and members of the Capital Region Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
Katie Somers one of the organizers of the rally said that it was a group effort to bring a wide variety of speakers. All gubernatorial candidates were requested but only Hanger came.
Miller came to the rally as a gay activist and still is deciding if he will continue his campaign in Harrisburg's mayor's race. After losing in the Democratic mayoral primary to Eric Papenfuse last month Miller won enough votes to be the Republican nominee but has yet to decide if he will do so. When asked about it Saturday he said he had not made up his mind.
One of the main reasons to be an openly gay elected official is to push equal rights Miller said. Gays aren t second class citizens. If they can be elected officials and positive role models they can help to educate the public about the importance of equal rights.
In his speech Miller said he was fired once for being gay and he could still be fired today. Pennsylvania law doesn't prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. In an interview Saturday he also said that he suspects that some people voted against him in the mayoral elections because he was gay.
People don t understand what it was like 23 years ago he said. It has changed dramatically but the state House hasn t caught up.
Miller is hoping for a broad Supreme Court ruling for equality for every state.
That will be the death of discrimination he said.
Somers says that in central Pennsylvania she has to fight to be gay.
People need to know regardless of the Supreme Court ruling we need to fight here for our legal rights Somers said. I m amazed talking to family and friends that they don t realize that I can be denied buying a house because I m gay. There s a lot of injustice there. It s time to right those wrongs now.
Scott C. Strait 21 a board member of the Central Pennsylvania Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce agreed. His speech focused on the state House and Senate Bills 300 which would end legal discrimination in public accommodations such as housing employment and education.
If the legislation is passed it will add sexual orientation and gender identity in expression to an already existing non discrimination act.
Even if gay marriage is not achieved yet there are an overwhelming number of people supporting it Strait said. It s bound to happen eventually.
READ MORE How corporate America is changing workplace policies as the country becomes more accepting of same sex marriage
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