Handwritten Letter Guidelines

Thank you for writing to your legislator to let them know why you support passing nondiscrimination protections for all Pennsylvanians. Please review the following guidelines and a sample template to help you write your letter.

  1. Please refer to EQPA Talking Points & FAQs and follow these guidelines when writing your letter.
  1. If you’re not using personal stationery (and few people use that!), make sure your letter clearly includes your name & address at the top of the page, before the address of your legislator (and your info is written legibly). This is critical to let your legislator know that you’re a real person who lives in their district.
  1. If you do write your letter on personal stationery, make sure that it identifies who you are (and includes your address).
  1. Address your letter your legislator’s district office (this will be either in your region, or in Harrisburg). In some cases, we’re only focusing on one legislator in your area—either your state representative or your state senator, but check with your organizer to see if you should write to both. You can get this information from your organizer.
  1. Make it unique—include your story.
  1. If possible, give a copy of your letter to your organizer. We would greatly appreciate it! We want to know how many letters are going into the various offices—and we want to thank you for taking this important action! We also collect copies of these letters to deliver at critical times to the vote, so you can double your impact just by making sure we have a copy!

Please feel free to turn this letter into your local Equality PA organizer & they can make sure this gets to your legislator:

Organizer Name

Organizing Email

Organizer Phone

Here’s some sample text we hope will help you get started on your letter!

Your Name

Your Address

Your City, State, Zipcode

Your Legislator’s Name

Your Legislator’s Address

Your Legislator’s City, State, Zipcode

Date

Dear Senator/Representative XXX,

Thank you for being a co-sponsor of HB / SB 300, the Pennsylvania Non-discrimination Act. I believe it's time to update our laws in Pennsylvania to end discrimination. We want to make sure that no one can be fired from their job, evicted from their home, or turned away from a business because of who they are.I support non-discrimination laws in Pennsylvania that give everyone – gay, straight or transgender – equal opportunity. As my representative, I’m glad you do two.

I also personally feel HB / SB should be passed because:

If able, please insert personal paragraph 3-4 sentences, explaining why HB / SB 300 is so important to you personally. Please see our Talking Points as well for guidance on the best and most persuasive points to make in your letters. If you have a personal connection to the legislator, or represent an important constituency for them—e.g. conservative, business leader, person of faith, small business owner, etc.—be sure to include that here. If you have experienced or witnessed discrimination, or been otherwise affected by discrimination, be sure to include that!

Thank you for reading my letter and for being a co-sponsor and strong supporter of HB / SB 300.

Sincerely,

Your name

GENERAL TALKING POINTS (Feel free to pick the points that apply to your own story)

  • At the heart of everyone’s American Dream is a good job where you’re judge on your merits and skill.
  • Yet today hard-working citizens here in Pennsylvania can be fired from their job, evicted from their home, or turned away from a business simply because they’re gay or transgender. There’s no state law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.
  • I know it’s hard to believe—most people think there already is such a law. Not the case.
  • The bills HB 300/SB 300, currently being considered in the PA Legislature, will update the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act by prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
  • Corporate America -from Fortune 500 companies to small business – and the vast majority of Americans, including 70% of Republicans, believe it’s time to end LGBT discrimination.
  • I urge our state legislature to pass SB/HB 300 when it comes up for a vote. We all share the values of hard work, providing for our families, and advancing in a job based on merit. That’s what our nation is all about.
  • IF YOU LIVE IN A PLACE THAT HAS PASSED A NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE: I know that we already have these protections here in (MUNICIPALITY), but it pains me to think that just because I (OR “a person I love and care about) could cross a bridge or a border and not be protected against discrimination.
  • The protections in HB 300 / SB 300 are so important because discrimination can hurt people in ways that you may not expect. For example, housing discrimination is prevalent in the transgender community, while one in five transgender people have experienced homelessness. No one should be turned down for a lease just because of who they are.
  • Discrimination affects people in disproportionate ways. For example, despite the stereotype you may see in mainstream media suggesting that gay and transgender people are more affluent than the general population, gay and transgender communities of color are among the most economically insecure in our society. In reality, they earn lower wages and have higher rates of poverty than both their white gay counterparts and straight people of color.

FAITH TALKING POINTS

  • As a person of faith, I have often thought that at the heart of the American Dream is the freedom to worship, opportunities for all, and a good job.
  • Yet hard working citizens right here in Pennsylvania can be fired simply because they’re gay or transgender. There is no federal law that bars employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • I know it’s hard to believe - most people think there is already such a law.
  • The bills HB 300/SB 300, currently being considered in the PA Legislature, will amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act by prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
  • Large majorities of faithful from many denominations, no matter their political party, believe it is wrong to discriminate against LGBT people in the workplace.

For example, a 2011 poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research found that a supermajority of Christians – 86 percent – said their faith leads them to the conclusion that the law should treat all people equally, including gay and transgender people.

HB 300 and SB 300 contain explicit, and broad, exemption for religious organizations. And they do not create “special rights” for LGBT Pennsylvanians. The right to work and be judged for the work you do is not a “special right,” it is a bedrock principle that has fueled our economy for generations.

  • We hope our PA Legislators vote for HB 300/SB 300 —to right the wrong of discrimination.
  • To work hard, to provide for yourself and your family and above all, to keep that job and to advance in that job based on merit, that’s what our nation is all about.

REPUBLICAN TALKING POINTS

  • As a lifelong Republican, I still believe the American Dream is available to any individual willing to put in the work. And it is unconscionable for anyone or anything to stand in the way of one’s pursuit of life, liberty or happiness.
  • That is why I support HB 300/SB 300 which will update the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act by prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
  • With growing a strong economy and creating jobs in mind, most Fortune 500 companies already have in place non-discrimination polices that include sexual orientation and gender identity because it makes good business sense.
  • States across the country and cities of all sizes – from Vicco, Kentucky and Bloomington, Indiana to Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia – have updated their laws to protect gay and transgender people from discrimination.
  • HB 300 and SB 300 contain explicit, and broad, exemption for religious organizations. And they do not create “special rights” for LGBT Pennsylvanians. The right to work and be judged for the work you do is not a “special right,” it is a bedrock principle that has fueled our economy for generations.
  • I urge our state legislature to pass SB/HB 300 when it comes up for a vote. I stand with the vast majority of Americans and the 70% of Republicans who believe it is time to ensure all Americans the same protections to pursue the American Dream. That’s what our nation is all about.

BUSINESS TALKING POINTS

  • I started my company, <INSERT BUSINESS/COMPANY NAME HERE> here in Pennsylvania because I wanted to pursue my passion and provide for myself and my loved ones. That’s what the American dream is all about.
  • My business is my livelihood. That’s why I feel so strongly about hiring and retaining qualified employees based on their talents and merit – to me, that’s just good business. So I was surprised to learn that there’s no federal law banning discrimination based on someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Two bills currently being considered by the PA Legislature, HB 300/SB 300, would fix that problem. They would expand existing protections for religion, race and disability to cover sexual orientation and gender identity. It would mean hardworking Pennsylvanians are protected from undue discrimination.
  • I’m not the only business leader who recognizes the importance of hiring employees based on their talents and merits. Nearly 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have sexual orientation non-discrimination policies; while 57 percent have gender identity non-discrimination policies. And hundreds of other businesses across the country, large and small, have expressed their support for ending discrimination.
  • I’m proud to stand with the majority of Pennsylvanians who support ending discrimination.

SMALL BUSINESS TALKING POINTS

  • State and federal laws protect Pennsylvania workers against discrimination based on a whole host of things—race, religion, gender, age and more. But right now in our state, people can be legally fired, evicted from their homes, or turned away from a business for being gay or transgender.
  • Small Business Majority’s opinion polling found the vast majority of small business owners believe we’re long overdue for policies protecting all workers from discrimination.
  • I’m a small business owner, and I agree. It’s good for business, it helps companies like mine attract and retain talent, and it’s the right thing to do. In fact, 78 percent of small employers already thought it was illegal under state law to fire someone for being gay or transgender.
  • I believe in evaluating my employees based on their work ethic, regardless of sexual orientation. I’m not alone: nearly two-thirds of my fellow entrepreneurs think we need a state law to prohibit this type of discrimination.
  • It’s time for the state legislature to send a bill to the governor’s desk so that all Pennsylvania workers enjoy equal protection in the workplace.