A citizen group in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, recently submitted 1,899 signatures in an effort to repeal a new anti-discrimination ordinance. The news outraged some locals, as many believed the effort was intended to preserve inequality and discrimination in the county.
According to a report by the Times Leader, the group used a petition available through the county’s citizen-initiated referendum process, which has been included in its home-rule charter since 2012. The group is currently seeking 11,615 valid signatures for the next stage of the process, which requires support from at least 10% of local voters in order to move forward.
If that number is reached within 60 days, the county council will have 30 days to reconsider the ordinance. If it is not repealed, it could be placed on a future ballot, potentially in 2027.
The controversial ordinance that prompted the effort created a human relations commission to hear discrimination complaints involving employment, housing, health care, education, and public-facing businesses.
Pennsylvania Residents React to Attempts to Overturn Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
Multiple users on Reddit’s r/Pennsylvania were outraged by the effort to overturn the new legislation. One of them wrote: “Gross, how do you wake up and look in the mirror and decide, ‘you know what, I want MORE discrimination. I want justice for people discriminated against to be HARDER.’”
Some Luzerne County residents chimed in as well. One wrote: “I live in this county. We are surrounded by racist, entitled boomers.” Someone else claimed: “The sheer amount of discrimination in Luzerne County alone would dwarf entire states.”
Former residents also expressed strong negative feelings about the measure: “So disappointing. Glad I moved away from that [expletive]. You’ve gotta be a special kind of bigot to fight that hard to get rid of a committee that hears discriminatory cases for basic necessities like housing.”
However, not everything seems to be lost in the Pennsylvania county. After someone said that “we’ll be avoiding Luzerne County in our travels,” another person responded: “I live in Luzerne County and do a ton of community organizing. These people are not a true representation of a lot of the community here. It’s an uphill battle, but we are fighting the good fight.”
It remains to be seen whether the ordinance will be repealed, but it is clear that the effort has sparked concern among many people in the county and drawn significant opposition.
