What would you say if you heard that someone you knew was denied a job because they had children or was not married? What about someone not being allowed to eat in a restaurant because the owner knew the person’s family’s medical history?

How about a person being kicked out of his apartment for the sole reason that the landlord found out he is gay?

Most people I talk with think there are federal laws that protect people from this type of discrimination, but there aren’t any. Luckily, some states have passed laws to protect all their citizens, but Pennsylvania is not one of them.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania courts have ruled that a municipality has the right to pass its own non-discrimination ordinance.

Currently, 28 of the 2,566 Pennsylvania municipalities have passed local non-discrimination ordinances since 1982. None of those are in Butler County. I think it is time that Butler joins the other 28 areas and protects all its citizens. I have been told by people that Butler is too backward to pass such an ordinance.

I want to prove them wrong.

Butler Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) has been asking Butler Mayor Maggie Stock and the city council to enact such an ordinance. Those who think the city of Butler ought to protect all its citizens should contact Stock and other council members.

Those who might be thinking that such discrimination is unfair, but it doesn’t really affect them, they’re wrong.

It also is legal to discriminate in housing, work and public accommodation if someone just thinks a person is gay.