By Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford)

Discrimination is wrong. It always has been and always will be.

It is also wrong to try to redefine freedom under the umbrella of “discrimination.”

Yet that would be the result in our Commonwealth if House Bill 300, the so-called “Fairness Act,” is enacted into law.

This bill is not about fairness. It’s not even about protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination – those protections are already well-established in both state and federal laws.

This bill, as one Philadelphia state senator said, is about “redefining freedom.” At a rally in support of House Bill 300, Sen. Nikil Saval said, “I do feel that what we are doing here and what my colleagues are doing and all of us are doing together is redefining what freedom is. Freedom is about being able to work where you work, be called by the pronouns that are yours, by the names that are yours because of who you are. And we are reclaiming that definition of freedom.”

But once again, he and other supporters of House Bill 300 are not telling you the whole story. Let’s look at what it REALLY means to “redefine freedom.”

I recently talked with a woman who served for over a decade as a drug and alcohol counselor, most recently in the city of Philadelphia. She served everyone, but her employer fired her just this year, citing a Philadelphia ordinance on public accommodations, just like those outlined in House Bill 300.

This woman counseled clients on drug and alcohol issues regardless of their gender identity. So, what was the firing offense?

After she began counseling a new client, a male who identified as a woman, she let her employer know that she simply avoids using sex-based pronouns because of her religious beliefs. After all, it’s easy to simply say “you” in one-on-one conversation.

She wanted to let her employer know they could also accommodate her by assigning clients to a counselor who embraces using opposite sex pronouns if they thought that better than her approach of using neutral pronouns. 

Her employer, instead of thanking her and finding a reasonable approach that protected everyone, fired her a day or so later, saying the Philadelphia public accommodation ordinance “will prevail over a religious objection” and demanded she use opposite-sex pronouns.

All she did was ask for reasonable accommodation, and she lost her job.

This is what the redefined “freedom” looks like: Compelled speech.

What does redefined freedom look like in our schools? It’s biological males competing on our female teams. It opens up locker rooms and restrooms to anyone, whatever gender you want to be under the accommodation part of the Human Services Code. That includes our pools, shelters and even faith-based nonprofits.

What does redefined freedom look like in our hospitals? It’s forcing doctors to perform sex change operations on minors whether the doctors want to or not.

How about churches and houses of worship? Under this bill a church would be subject to litigation if someone did not get the job they wanted regardless of their religious convictions.

Lawmakers are leaders and it is our job to work together for the betterment of the Commonwealth, to support our citizens regardless of age, race, gender, sexual identity, etc. Instead of working together to come up with a proposal that values everyone, House Democrats have pushed this unreasonable proposal that is bad for our Commonwealth, our communities and our citizens.

I, for one, would like to stick with the freedoms our founding fathers drafted in our Constitution, versus this extreme redefinition of “freedom.” Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Free Speech and Religious Freedom for all.

Roulette Township

The Roulette Township Supervisors has rescheduled the May monthly meeting to be held on Thursday, May 11, 2023 to Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Same place same time

St. Eulalia Church Maternity Closet in Coudersport and St. Gabriel Church Maternity Closet in Port Allegany will be open this Saturday, May 6, , at 10:00 am. to 12:00pm.  The Maternity Closet provides baby items such as disposable diapers and baby clothing as well as numerous baby items, for mothers and their children, free of charge.  All are welcome!

The Pennsylvania State Police presented awards today to two troopers who selflessly risked their own lives and safety to protect others from harm during a confrontation with an armed and violent suspect last year.

Troopers Jonnie W. Schooley III and Shawn K. Palmer, of Troop D, Beaver, were awarded the Commendation Medal for their actions July 29 while apprehending the suspect, who had threatened people with a gun at an Aliquippa convenience store. The award is presented to personnel for a conspicuously significant achievement so outstanding and superior that it distinguishes the recipient and enhances the prestige of the department.

Schooley, who was shot and seriously injured during the incident, was also awarded the Pennsylvania State Police Purple Heart, presented to members who receive serious bodily injury in the line of duty. The awards were presented during a ceremony at Penn State Beaver.

Doing The Right Thing

by

Pastor B.J. Knefley

There’s a lot going on in our world right now. Politics, COVID, human rights, freedom, elections, are just a couple of the things that are in the news on a regular basis. Everyone seems to have an opinion, but after all opinions are often just that, opinions.

There’s an interesting passage from the scriptures that states: “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”

(Proverbs 14:12). The problem of course is that it “seems right”. It makes me wonder; do we think about what we’re doing? Do we review our direction, and ask the critical questions along the way? Or do we just plod along on the same old path? Isn’t that sort of like doing the same thing over and over expecting different results?

The Rotarians have what is called the Four-Way test. It is a moral code for business and personal relationships. This is the test:

1.     Is it the truth?

2.     Is it fair to all concerned?

3.     Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

4.     Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Seems simple enough doesn’t it, so why can’t it be practiced. Personally, it seems to relate really well to “Doing the Right Thing”. Not because it’s profitable to you or a group, but simply because it’s right. It’s a position that will not always be popular and it may go against what “seems” to be the right path. Too often we ask the wrong question simply because we’re asking it from a perceived agenda or thought.

I like the Four-Way Test because it gives a chance to pause and think. Too often we don’t think. We run ahead without engaging our thought and in the end, we stumble into a huge mess of our own doing. Isn’t that what a Dildine does? Perhaps, just perhaps we need to pause and think first and ask the question “Is it the right thing?” Think about it.