Philadelphia PA

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A gay Pennsylvania legislator says he’ll introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriages in his home state.

PHILADELPHIA — Mayor Michael Nutter signed legislation Thursday to afford equal rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, saying he hoped Philadelphia would become “the most LGBT-friendly” city in the world.

PHILADELPHIA — A Boy Scouts of America group will vacate its city-owned Philadelphia headquarters in return for $825,000 under an agreement that settles a long legal battle over the organization’s ban on gays, Mayor Michael Nutter’s office said Friday.

PHILADELPHIA — The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro will be allowed to travel to Philadelphia to accept an award for her gay rights advocacy, officials said Tuesday, reversing a previous decision to reject her visa request.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia city council on Thursday approved a landmark LGBT equality bill that provides tax incentives to private employers who extend insurance to the same-sex partners of their employees, and strengthens legal rights and protections for LGBT citizens.

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia city council member wants to require new or renovated city-owned buildings to have gender-neutral restrooms in addition to men’s and women’s restrooms.

HARRISBURG, PA — Philadelphia policy attorney and civil rights advocate Brian Sims was elected Tuesday to represent Pennsylvania’s 182nd District, and becomes the state’s first openly gay state legislator.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) has introduced a bill that would ban mental health providers from offering “gay-to-straight” reparative therapy for minors.

PHILADELPHIA — A street naming dedication ceremony for Barbara Gittings Way — named for the LGBT civil rights pioneer — was held Monday in the heart of Philadelphia’s gay neighborhood at the intersection of Locust and 13th Streets.

PHILADELPHIA — Homicide detectives are investigating the killing of a well known member of Philadelphia’s LGBT community, Kyra Kruz, a 27-year-old transgender woman who was found dead in a wooded area of the city’s Frankford area. She had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.