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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Tony Brooks, the city&#8217;s first openly gay member of council, offered testimony Tuesday in Harrisburg at a public hearing conducted by the state Senate Labor and Industry Committee on Senate Bill 1306, which deals with preventing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.</p><p>Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, chairperson of the committee, said it is her belief that achieving equal protection under the law &#8220;is intrinsic to citizenship, and freedom of religion is a foundational principle for our state and nation.&#8221;</p><p>Baker said the hearing was held to consider the various positions for and against the proposal. She said the testimony of the panelists will be posted on her website &#8212; senatorbaker.com &#8212; and the committee will continue to accept comments on the legislation in a special section that has been added to allow for public comment. Baker said, to date, she has received more than 600 public comments on this bill.</p><p>&#8220;Fear is very real,&#8221; Brooks told the committee. &#8220;For 10 years, I lived in the closet. I lived with pain and fear of discrimination.&#8221;</p><p>At a recent city council meeting, Brooks said there is &#8220;outright discrimination in our society and then there is the fear of discrimination, the fear of being fired, the fear of losing your apartment, denied visitation rights in the hospital, the fear of a dishonorable discharge from the military.&#8221;</p><p>Brooks went on to say &#8220;fear is very real. The closet is the embodiment of that fear. I know because, for 10 long years, I lived in the closet, afraid to open the door.&#8221;</p><p>Brooks repeated much of those comments at the hearing and also revealed more personal information, such as his struggle to get acceptance from his parents after he told them he was gay. He said he lived in fear for years &#8212; afraid to come out of the closet and live his life.</p><p>According to a story on Capitolwire, legislators and others gathered to hear testimony from experts, supporters and opponents of SB-1306, which would amend the state&#8217;s Human Relations Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the list of prohibited classes of discrimination in regards to employment.</p><p>Essentially, the bill would protect individuals who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender from being fired, not hired or not promoted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, bringing the Keystone State in line with over 30 municipalities in its borders that offer similar protections, the Capitolwire story stated.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Baker </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_LISABAKERNEW-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Baker </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre City Council member Tony Brooks testifies in Harrisburg on LGBT legislation