Mayor Signs Human Relations Bill into Law

In front of an enthusiastic crowd of about 30 people who gathered at Town Hall, Tuesday evening, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan signed the city’s new anti-discrimination ordinance.

“It is high time that Bethlehem is no longer the largest city in Pennsylvania to not have a human relations ordinance,” Callahan said. “This is an important day for the city.”

The new law makes it illegal to discriminate in housing, employment and other public accommodations against people who are gay, lesbian or transgender.

It also establishes a new Human Relations Commission to hear and investigate complaints of discrimination against anyone covered under the state or city human relations law, which also covers race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, national origin, handicap, the need to use a guide or support animal.

"Bethlehem had to do this because our legislators in Harrisburg have failed to protect us from discrimination, so we are forced to go city to city to ensure our basic civil rights,” said Adrian Shanker, vice president of the Pennsylvania Diversity Network, which led the coalition of bill supporters.

“Hopefully Harrisburg will learn, as Bethlehem did, that basic civil rights are simply not a controversial issue."

Callahan thanked the contingent of law supporters who showed up at meeting after meeting to tell council of the importance of the legislation.

It took five council meetings – one committee meeting and four regular council meetings – to finally get the on Friday. Misunderstandings about and an error in were among the things that delayed final passage.

“Democracy is not always efficient and it’s not always clean,” Callahan said. “Sometimes it’s messy, but if you work at it you can get the results you hope for.”

The mayor also thanked council members Karen Dolan and J. William Reynolds, without whom, Callahan said, the bill would not have been adopted.

Reynolds said the adoption of the new law was long overdue.

“It’s not often as a resident of Bethlehem that I can say I am embarrassed about something. But I was embarrassed that we were the largest city in Pennsylvania that didn’t have an ordinance,” Reynolds said.

That distinction now belongs to Altoona.