Pittsburgh City Council is considering a trio of progressive bills aimed at safeguarding LGBTQ residents from discrimination and curbing the impact of future state or federal restrictions.
Introduced earlier this week, the legislation would protect queer and trans people from being denied medical care, targeted by discriminatory laws, or criminalized for sex work.
One bill would prohibit the denial of elective medical procedures based on a person’s gender identity or expression.
Cases of discrimination could be brought before the city’s Commission on Human Relations, which could require reconciliation or escalate matters to court. Warwick noted this would give residents a similar recourse as in housing or employment discrimination cases.
However, the bill would not reverse UPMC’s decision to end gender-affirming care for trans youth, as the health system is closing services broadly, not targeting individuals.
A second bill would instruct city agencies to de-prioritize enforcement of any law banning LGBTQ people from participating in otherwise legal activities—such as bathroom bans or restrictions on trans athletes.
Councilors Dan Lavelle, Deb Gross, Erika Strassburger, and Khari Mosley co-sponsored all three bills.
Strassburger also introduced a resolution urging Gov. Josh Shapiro to defend trans healthcare at the state level.
