EASTON, Pa. (WLVT) - Local members of the LGBTQ community are scratching their heads after Northampton County Council approved a voter referendum that would allow residents to cast a ballot next year on whether they support LGBTQ rights.
Adrian Shanker, executive director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBTQ Community Center in Allentown, says it's a big mistake.
"The majority should never have the right to vote on minority rights. It's wrong and it's offensive, and it's legally unnecessary," he said. "The Supreme Court has already settled this issue that LGBT people are protected from employment discrimination in all 50 states and 67 Pennsylvania counties."
Shanker is urging Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure to veto the referendum, in order to prevent alienating the community.
"The only true impact of a voter referendum is to make clear to LGBT residents that they are not supported by their neighbors," Shanker wrote in a letter to McClure.
McClure told PBS39 he expects to make a decision by Friday.
"I haven't firmly made my decision because I'm looking to hear guidance from county council now that they're starting to hear from folks all across Northampton County who are representative of the LGBT community," he said. "But you can kind of read between the lines and understand that I don't think human dignity should ever be on the ballot."