Tag: Malcolm Kenyatta

Pennsylvania House Passes ‘Nondiscrimination’ Bill Affecting Women’s Sports, Healthcare Providers

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives this week passed a bill supporters tout as protecting LGBTQ individuals from discrimination but which many expect to impact women’s sports, healthcare providers, and religious schools. 

The bill passed 102-98, nearly along party lines, in the almost evenly divided House. Among Republicans, only Representatives Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) and Alec Ryncavage (R-Nanticoke) supported the bill which advocates call the “Fairness Act.” Representative Frank Burns (D-Johnstown) cast the sole Democratic vote against the measure. 

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Cosponsor Admits Bill Forces Pennsylvania Doctors to Practice ‘Gender-Affirming’ Medicine

Bradley Vasoli

On Monday, a legislative committee passed a bill a cosponsor admits would force Pennsylvania physicians to provide treatments meant to mask a gender-dysphoric person’s biological sex.

A measure supporters call the “Fairness Act” and tout as an anti-discrimination bill passed the Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee on a 12-9 party-line vote. In a speech defending the bill, cosponsoring Representative Emily Kinkead (D-Bellevue) confirmed assertions by the legislation’s opponents that it would compel doctors to deliver “gender-affirming” medicine. 

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Conservative Commentator Fires Back at Deirdre Nansen McCloskey for Cancelling University of Pittsburgh Debate

Bradley Vasoli

Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles on Wednesday responded to Deirdre Nansen McCloskey’s withdrawal from their scheduled University of Pittsburgh debate, calling the libertarian economist “scared” and “not honest.” 

The event, sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), was to take place next Tuesday and Knowles said he and ISI are looking for a replacement for McCloskey. Knowles, a traditionalist Catholic, and McCloskey, a transgendered woman and professor emerita at the University of Illinois-Chicago, planned to argue over the nature of womanhood and current gender-policy issues. 

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Politically Diverse Groups Back Free Speech at Pitt After Pennsylvania Lawmakers Urge Event Cancellation

Bradley Vasoli

After two Pennsylvania lawmakers last week called for cancelling upcoming conservative appearances at the University of Pittsburgh, a politically diverse array of voices are responding in favor of free speech. 

Representatives Jessica Benham (D-Carrick) and Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), who co-chair the state House LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, denounced the state-related university for permitting the presence of speakers who oppose liberal views of transgenderism. The guests they find objectionable include Cabot Phillips, senior editor of the The Daily Wire news organization, who is scheduled to speak this Friday; Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer and critic of biological males competing in women’s sports, who will appear on March 27; and Michael Knowles, a Daily Wire commentator, who will debate transgender economist Deirdre McCloskey on April 18. All speakers are being sponsored by student-led associations. 

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Pennsylvania GOP House Leader Cutler Asserts Right to Schedule Special Elections for May

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R-Quarryville) on Thursday insisted he has the right to schedule special elections for three legislative vacancies. He wants two elections to take place during next May’s primaries. 

Cutler’s party has tussled with Democrats over control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the wake of November’s elections. Democrats won a majority of House seats that month, but Republican members nonetheless outnumber Democrats by two insofar as three seats to which the latter party won elections are vacant. 

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Governor Wolf Bestows $2.5 Million in Taxpayer Funds on LGBT Center in Philadelphia

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) on Wednesday joined a number of state, federal and city officials to celebrate the awarding of $2.5 million in taxpayer funds to a gay and transexual activity center in Philadelphia’s “Gayborhood.” 

Wolf said the money from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) will go toward several major renovations envisioned for the William Way LGBT Community Center just south of City Hall. The grant comes in addition to $1 million the center received from the state in 2019 to improve the property’s heating, ventilation and cooling systems as well as to remodel the building’s front area. 

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Republicans Condemn FBI Seizure of Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry’s Phone

Bradley Vasoli

One day after the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home on Monday, agents seized the cell phone belonging to U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA-10), eliciting outrage on his side of the political aisle.

The FBI has refused to comment on the investigation, leaving it presently uncertain what messages or other data the bureau seeks to obtain from the lawmaker’s device. Perry, who represents Harrisburg, York and surrounding communities, has been at odds with Congress’s Democratic majority and Joe Biden’s White House over investigations related to the January 6, 2021 riot and Capitol Building breach. The U.S. House select committee probing the event issued a subpoena to the congressman with which he declined to comply.

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New Trafalgar Poll: Barnette Reaches Second in Pennsylvania Senate Race

Bradley Vasoli

A new poll shows the GOP primary race for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania continues to be tight, but with Kathy Barnette now inching ahead of David McCormick to reach second place behind Mehmet Oz.

Barnette, an army veteran and political commentator, is polling at 23.2 percent. Oz, the celebrity surgeon, received 24.5 percent and former hedge-fund executive McCormick got 21.6 percent.

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While Pennsylvania Democrats Want to Increase Welfare Payments, Some Experts Urge Focus on Bigger Picture

Bradley Vasoli

Democrats in the Pennsylvania General Assembly hope to increase monthly welfare benefits in Pennsylvania, reasoning that payments under the federally funded Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program have stayed flat since the 1990s, falling well behind inflation. 

Legislation being drafted by state Sen. Katie Muth (D-PA-Royersford) and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-PA-Philadelphia) would increase Pennsylvania’s TANF benefits, which average $403 per month for a family of three in most counties.

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