PA County Moves To Form ‘Hate Speech Council,’ Critics Say

The all-Democrat county council in Delaware County, Pennsylvania is considering the formation of an all-volunteer “Human Relations Commission” with the power to investigate and levy fines against local organizations and, according to free speech advocates, alleged acts of discrimination in housing, employment, medical care, and education.

According to a report from the Delaware Valley Journal, the county is considering an ordinance that would classify a number of identity groups as “protected” classes.

“The actual or perceived race, ethnicity, color, religion, creed, national origin or citizenship status, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, familial status, GED rather than high school diploma, physical or mental disability, relationship or association with a disabled person, source of income, age, height, weight, veteran status, use of guide or support animals and/or mechanical aids, or domestic or sexual violence victim status,” are among the groups being considered, the outlet reported.

The ordinance calls on the council to appoint anywhere between seven and 13 volunteer commissioners to a board that would have the power to hear and investigate complaints, issue rulings, and issue fines up to $500. Complaints could be submitted by any county residents without any corroborating evidence.

Commission members would be required to review, but not necessarily act on, all submitted complaints.

“The County is opposed to the evils of discrimination in all of its forms, and especially in the areas of employment, housing, and education,” the ordinance preamble reads.

Free speech advocates have taken issue with the language in the ordinance, including former Delaware County Council Chairman Wally Nunn, who outlined his concerns in a piece with Broad + Liberty.

“These unelected appointees will wield the power to investigate, conciliate, adjudicate, and fine citizens who somehow stumble over the 18 pages of protected classes and prohibitions,” Nunn wrote. “In other words, Big Brother (who now identifies as female) is alive and well at the courthouse. As my late friend often said, ‘Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out.’”

Nunn, a Republican, further claimed that the volunteers will be “handpicked by the County Executive and rubber-stamped by Council.”

During a public hearing on August 20, Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer said the governing body has “heard loud and clear from our communities, particularly our LGBTQ, that they are under siege.” She went on to speak in favor of the initiative, stating that more needs to be done.

“This is an important moment for the county to express its commitment to kindness, fairness, and justice,” said Rosalind Spigel, chair of the Haverford Human Relations Commission.

Councilwoman Christine Ruther noted that a sizable percentage of the county’s budget is dedicated to social issues, the Delaware Valley Journal reported. Without a Human Relations Commission, however, the county would have no way of enforcing anti-discrimination penalties, she added.

Deputy Solicitor Jack Larkin agreed and stated that passing the ordinance would be a key step towards creating an enforcement mechanism. “The police do not go out and arrest anyone for human relations violations, and they’re not self-executing,” he said. “So, you need to have a mechanism that’s built into the ordinance.”

Reuther noted that much of the ordinance mirrors a similar statewide decree, though the Delaware County version would “go further,” the Delaware Valley Journal noted.

Women’s and girl’s sports advocates were among those to express concern with the ordinance at the public hearing, highlighting that it requires the commission to interpret the term “sex” in its “broadest possible sense,” including “gender, gender identity (and) gender expression,” in addition to biology.

Broomall resident Joe Finio was among the Delaware County residents who spoke out against the formation of a commission, stating that he was “incredulous, with all the problems in this world and all the controversial issues in this country, that council again is focused on social issues.” He went on to criticize the Democrat-controlled council’s embrace of “sanctuary city” policies and its embrace of other social programs, such as condom vending machines.

“Creating more jobs and wealth in this county is more important than whose sex is on the bathroom door or men playing in women’s sports or getting a free condom at 3 AM in the morning,” Fine said. “You need to get off the social issues and get back to just the financial ones.”

Liz Piazza, a Republican candidate for Delaware County Council, also spoke out against the ordinance in a statement to The Journal.

“I am against discrimination and support inclusion. However, the way the one-sided county council is going about this issue is just another example of how they mismanage their duty to Delaware County residents, by increasing an already over-inflated budget by adding unnecessary positions, likely patronage jobs,” she said.