When most people outside of Dover, Pennsylvania think of the York County borough, they think of it as the place where the school board tried to force religion, under the name of ‘Intelligent Design,’ into the public school curriculum. The move was blocked in court, and the school board members were all summarily rejected upon seeking re-election, but the reputation of Dover was sealed as a Christian fundamentalist town.
In the current debate over whether to abolish the Lancaster County Human Rights Commission, the current majority of the Lancaster County Commissioners, Scott Martin and Dennis Stuckey, are doing their best to give Lancaster County a reputation of intolerance and discrimination.
Even if the Lancaster County Human Rights Commission handled very few complaints, and still cost about $500,000 per year, the eradication of such a commission should be very carefully deliberated. The history of the country (and, yes, of Lancaster County) is replete with examples of abject racism and discrimination. To abolish the bureau charged with investigating such claims sends the message that the problem is solved. It is not.
According to the County, last year the LCHRC received 150 complaints. That is about three complaints a week in an average work week. This is not an insubstantial number of complaints. The complaints deal with discrimination claims in employment, housing, education, lending, and public accomodations based upon a person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, handicap/disability or familial status. This is very important stuff.
If the LHRC were to shut down, Lancaster County citizens would have to turn to the state’s human rights commission. There, according to the director of the Harrisburg regional office of the PA Human Relations Commission, a case takes more than 400 days to investigate a claim; in Lancaster, it takes 258 days on average. So given the additional cases coming from Lancaster, a claim could take a couple of years for the state caseworker to investigate. That doesn’t seem like an improvement.
Then there is the logistical inconvenience of having to go through the Harrisburg bureaucracy, rather than having a local Lancaster office investigate a claim locally.
It appears to me that this is political politics at its worst. Scott Martin, playing to his conservative base, seems to be positioning himself to run for Rep. Joe Pitts congressional seat when Pitts retires, which is expected soon. Stuckey is being a good ‘team player,’ and is quietly supporting getting rid of the LCHRC.
The county commissioners should look at other areas of the budget to cut if they must posture about shrinking government. If they abolish this board, and Lancaster is labeled a place of discrimination and intolerance, the blame will lie squarely with them. And they will deserve it.
I think you may be a bit myopic. I for one do NOT think of that at all when I think of Dover.
Not sure when it happened but I suspect long forgotten by the world [except perhaps folks from Dover].
There have been so many things happen in the world since then (whenever) that have overshadowed the fifteen minutes of fame of which you sustain your argument.
Regardless. The problem is that the commission only respresent “special” and “priviledged” individuals and does NOT defend the largest class of abuse – fathers and men.
Get rid of the HRC and try to find a better base for your argument if you can.
This blog is right on!. Disbanding the the Lancaster County HRC really would give the county a black eye.
It’s like throwing away the money we’ve spent trying to convince people from New York, New Jersey, Virginia & DC that Lancaster’s a nice place to visit.
A local commission SAVES us taxpayer money by operating more efficiently than the state commission. Read the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry support for it!!
One minor detail: in 2009 the HRC handled 2,400 consultations. “150 complaints” are those that actually become a formal case. One goal of the Commission is to help resolve issues before they need to go to a hearing. That way both businesses and complainants are better served.