Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Pennsylvania face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Laws against consensual sodomy were repealed incrementally. Legislative action in 1972 only legalized consensual sodomy for heterosexual married couples, while the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania legalized it for all other relationships in the 1980 ruling of Commonwealth v. Bonadio. Legislative repeal abolished the remainder of sodomy laws in Pennsylvania in 1995.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 does not recognizes same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

s, civil unions, or domestic partnerships, though attempts have been made in the recent years to allow for such unions, as well as several measures that would block such legislation, such as amending the State Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.

The city of Philadelphia offers domestic partnership registries to residents of the city or couples with at least one partner employed by the city. The city of Pittsburgh also provides domestic partnerships, which have no residency requirement and are limited to same-sex couples.

Parenting and adoption

Pennsylvania allows single LGBT individuals to adopt. It also allows a same-sex parent to adopt the child of his/her partner. Although the law is less than clear, there is no explicit prohibition of same-sex couples adopting a child together.

Hate crime legislation

While Pennsylvania passed an anti-hate crime law in 2002 that covered LGBT people, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck it down in 2008, but only on a technicality: the bill had its purpose changed during the passage process, which violates the PA Constitution. A bill was introduced in March 2009 that would have reinstated the law, but it never made it out of committee.