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To some, the fact that “Jenny” is an expert in trauma and abuse might be ironic to some. To others it might be fitting. To others still, it’s simply sad. But whatever your take on the situation, the story of “Jenny” — who spoke to the Weekender on the condition of anonymity — is one with important implications for anyone that has ever been discriminated against. She was fired, twice, because of her sexual orientation, she said.
It first happened in 1999, then, with another employer in 2001.
“With the first one, I was in the process of coming out and leaving my husband,” she said. “I went from receiving a service award the week before to being fired on a Monday morning with no recourse. They trumped up these different things, like alleged incompetence.”
“Jenny” found a new job as a behavior specialist, doing similar work, she said. According to “Jenny,” her new supervisor “was in the closet herself and had issues” and promoted a man that “Jenny” had trained. The supervisor, she said, “started harassing me, third-party, through him.”
She was eventually fired from that position as well. She said she contacted a lawyer after the second dismissal but didn’t file a lawsuit.
The major problem then, as it is now, is that gays, lesbians and trans-gendered people in Pennsylvania are not protected from discrimination by Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act. Lobbyists from the gay community are optimistic about the addition of new legislation at the state and federal level that would tackle on-the-job discrimination. Additionally, the proposed Uniting American Families Act, which would extend same-sex health benefits to domestic partners, is gaining support in the U.S. Senate.
Things have improved since her firings, “Jenny” said, but not enough. From a personal standpoint, though, she has gotten the last laugh.
“The good thing is that over the course of many years, I’ve gotten my Ph.D., and I’m practicing, and I’m very well-known and respected in my field,” said “Jenny.” All these people that started this crap with me, I don’t have to dance to their tune anymore, and they have to call me ‘Doctor.’”
She offered some advice for gays or lesbians that feel they are being discriminated against at work.
“If I were them, I would definitely get in touch with the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) or the NLCR (National Center for Lesbian Rights),” said “Jenny.” “We do have other attorneys in the area that are very gay-friendly and very proactive in civil rights that weren’t as openly available back then. (People facing discrimination should) start documenting all that’s going on instead of (ignoring) it.”
Another member of the Northeastern Pennsylvania gay community that has successfully battled misconceptions, but in a much different way, is Michael Dennis, who has been an owner of gay bars for 35 years. He owns Michael’s Lounge in Edwardsville and is preparing to move to a new location in the area under the name Michael’s South Beach. He said he has seen a lot of progress and more tolerance from people in the region in the passing decades.
“It was 1974 when I started, and it’s night and day compared to now,” Dennis said. “I had bullet holes in my building, the windows in all of the cars were smashed and the tires were slashed. We had to protect our own. We had to police our own. It was a constant losing battle, but you had to just keep striving.”
Dennis, who also owned the only gay restaurant/bar in Daytona Beach, Fla., said that today, being gay in NEPA “is not even really an issue.”
“It’s so great that the kids today don’t really know what people (now) in their 40s and 50s and 60s, that were pioneers, what they went through,” he explained.
Now, he noted, the state and federal government are much more supportive of gay rights and issues. Gov. Ed Rendell, for example, marches in the gay parades in Philadelphia, he said.
He calls Wilkes-Barre Tom Leighton “a good friend of mine” and says his relationship with local police is great.
All of that said, being gay, Dennis noted, should be irrelevant.
“I can sum it up to ‘What difference does it make?’” he said. “Today, it’s more of homophobia, it’s more ignorance than anything else. They just don’t know. If you lack knowledge, then you have fear, and fear creates what happens.”
Dennis’ bar is again a sponsor of PrideFest, as well as the event’s official after-party location.
“The gay community in this town, it’s solid, a lot of it is laidback,” he said. “It’s quite wealthy, and it’s going to be here for a long time.”
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