Proposed Pittsburgh bills aim to shield LGBTQ+ residents, reduce penalties for sex workers

Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Barb Warwick on Tuesday introduced legislation that aims to protect LGBTQ+ people and reduce the penalty for sex workers.

The bills come at a time when the LGBTQ+ community is “under attack” by federal officials, Warwick, D-Greenfield, said during a news conference outside the City-County Building.

“These bills are, I hope, the beginning of a larger conversation about how we can support community members who are under threat and affirmatively say bodily autonomy is protected in the city of Pittsburgh,” Warwick told dozens of advocates who gathered to support her proposal. “Trans people are welcome in the city of Pittsburgh. Queer people are welcome and safe in the city of Pittsburgh.”

One of the bills aims to ensure LGBTQ+ people wouldn’t be targeted if the state or federal government made it illegal to express sexual orientation or gender identity. It also would protect people who engage in LGBTQ+ expressions like drag performances or display pride flags, use restrooms that match a person’s gender identity, engage in consensual sexual activities between adults, obtain gender-affirming medical care, seek housing or employment as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and participate in athletic activities based on gender identity.

The measure would deprioritize enforcing any such measures in the city.

“If no one is coming to arrest me for doing something as a cisgender woman, then no one should be coming to arrest me for doing it as a transgender person,” Warwick said.

Another measure would bar health care providers from denying people medical care because of their gender identity or gender expression.

This comes as local leaders and LGBTQ+ advocates have condemned UPMC for halting gender-affirming care for minors.

“We are taking a firm stance to make sure medical care is provided without bias,” said Rachel Shepherd, who heads the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, which will investigate claims of such discrimination.

When asked whether this would apply to UPMC’s actions, she urged anyone impacted to reach out to the commission because each case is different.

The third piece of legislation would reduce penalties for sex work from a misdemeanor to a summary violation. The penalty would not exceed $100, though the court could order community service rather than a fine.

Warwick in her legislation said that sex workers who face misdemeanors often find the charges make it harder to secure employment and housing or to win custody of their children. A disproportionate amount of people arrested for prostitution are non-white, Warwick said.

Reducing the penalties will empower people to seek help or report crimes to police without fear of serious repercussions if they’re engaging in sex work, said Theresa Nightingale, an organizer with the Pittsburgh Coalition for Safer Sex Work.

“This will help remove the fear of incarceration that often prevents sex workers from availing themselves of human services or police assistance when needed,” Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement, adding that he has asked public safety officials to review the proposal.

Council members R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District; Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill; and Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, co-sponsored all three bills.

Dena Stanley, executive director of TransYOUniting, a Pittsburgh-based group that advocates for transgender people, said she lives in fear that she’ll be discriminated against or denied medical care because she’s a Black transgender woman.

She applauded Pittsburgh officials for working to protect marginalized communities. Already, Pittsburgh has declared itself a sanctuary for gender-affirming health care.

But, Stanley said, there’s much more work to be done to protect LGBTQ+ people at the state and federal levels, too.

Strassburger on Tuesday also introduced a will of council — which council members unanimously supported — that calls on Gov. Josh Shapiro to protect Pennsylvania health care providers and health networks from federal persecution and to ensure LGBTQ+ health care is affordable through Medicaid and medical assistance programs.

“Let’s be clear: We still have a long road ahead,” Stanley said. “These bills won’t fix everything, but they will show what it looks like to take the right step in the right direction.”