The Rainbow MinuteThe Rainbow Minute

“A Milepost in LGBT History"Reader: Al Thompson

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 On August 5, 1982, the Philadelphia City Council, with the leadership of Council members David Cohen and Lucien Blackwell, amended the Philadelphia Fair Practices Act (Bill 1358) to include non-discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations for its estimated 200,000 gay and lesbian people.  The City Council vote was 13 to 2, despite an eleventh-hour Catholic Archdiocese opposition.  The Bill went into effect on September 9, 1982.

This Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of its passage.  The campaign to secure these civil rights protections was spearheaded by the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force and Philadelphia Black Gays. This made Philadelphia one of the first cities in the U.S. to include such protections.