EDGE Ft. Lauderdale

One-hundred Pennsylvania lawmakers have come together to support two bills that would end discrimination towards the LGBT community in the state.

A Pennsylvania councilman came under fire this week after he sent a citywide email blast that read, "Alert: This is a Test. Bryan is gay."

With the recent coming out of Republican Rep. Mike Fleck, Pennsylvania has gained both a Republican and a Democrat -- Rep. Mike Sims -- who are openly gay.

Mike Fleck, a Pennsylvania Republican state representative, came out of the closet last weekend, which makes him the Keystone State’s first openly gay lawmaker from either party.

The recent election of Brian Sims as Pennsylvania’s first out-gay representative is another example of the national sea change of LGBTs becoming involved in politics at all levels.

State lawmakers earlier this month pulled a bill that would have amended the state constitution to ban marriage for same-sex couples. House Bill 1434 opponents maintain it is not necessary because gays and lesbians cannot marry in Pennsylvania.

Mayor Michael Nutter helped to unveil a historical marker outside Giovanni’s Room in Center City on Sunday, Oct. 9. Named after James Baldwin’s second novel, Giovanni’s Room is the oldest continuously operating LGBT bookstore in the country.

The Bethlehem City Council on June 21 adopted a measure that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. It is the 21st Pennsylvania municipality to adopt an anti-LGBT discrimination measure.

Former Congressman Patrick Murphy [D-Pa.] attended a fundraiser for his Pennsylvania attorney general campaign in Fire Island Pines, N.Y., on Sunday, June 5.

This year’s Philadelphia Trans Health Conference drew more than 2,000 people from across the country to the Pennsylvania Convention Center on June 2-4.