Philadelphia Gay News (PGN), the area’s largest and oldest publication uplifting the LGBTQ+ community, has endorsed Bucks County’s Joe Khan for Pennsylvania Attorney General.
The publication’s editorial noted that Khan has been a strong ally to the LGBTQ community both through his work to oust Moms for Liberty extremists from the Central Bucks School District and his refusal to defend unconstitutional policies that target the LGBTQ+ community.
“I am honored to have such widespread support from the LGBTQ+ community. As a parent, the ongoing threats to the community hit home when the Moms for Liberty targeted our LGBTQ+ youth here in the Central Bucks School District. As Attorney General, I will always be a proud ally and advocate for the LBGTQ+ community,” Khan noted.
When asked by a PGN moderator what he would do if he was ever tasked to stand behind anti-LGBTQ+ laws he didn’t necessarily agree with, Khan responded, “There were all of these attempts to try and make people feel like gay and trans members of our community were somehow ‘other’ and therefore it was OK to pick on them and have discriminatory policies. So if I see laws like that as Attorney General, am I going to defend them when they fly in the face of not only the U.S. Constitution but in [the face] of Pennsylvania’s constitution? Hell no.”
The PGN endorsement is the most recent in a long list of LGBTQ leaders across Pennsylvania who are supporting Khan, including Allentown City Councilmember Candida Affa (Lehigh), State Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El (Lancaster), former Director of LGBT Affairs Nellie Fitzpatrick (Philadelphia), Dublin Borough President Tim Hayes (Bucks), former County Commissioner Donna Iannone (Sullivan), Millersburg Borough Tax Collector Alexander Reber (Dauphin), County Councilmember Jimmy Sabatino (Luzerne), former State Rep. Brian Sims (Philadelphia), former Doylestown Mayor Ron Strouse (Bucks), former Newtown Township Supervisor Bob Szwajkos (Bucks), and former Mayoral Liaison Lauren Vidas (Philadelphia).
Sean Meloy, Chair of the PA Dems LGBTQ Caucus from Alleghany County, is confident that Khan will be a strong ally for the LGBTQ community in Pennsylvania.
“Whenever our community has come under attack, Joe has stood up for us, from prosecuting hate crimes to taking on the Moms for Liberty extremists who targeted our LGBTQ+ youth in the Central Bucks School District,” said Meloy. “He will be an Attorney General we can trust to keep us safe.”
Ron Strouse, former Mayor of Doylestown, echoed Meloy’s trust in Khan.
“Joe’s commitment to the civil rights of all Pennsylvanians is complete and unwavering. He will work on behalf of all of us and leave no one forgotten or behind. These are the qualities that will make Joe Khan an outstanding Attorney General for Pennsylvania,” Strouse said.
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Beyond support from LGBTQ leaders, Khan has earned endorsements from other organizations including AFSCME Local 1739, Emgage Action, Second Generation, Philadelphia Wards 1, 2, 5, 9, 15, 18, 21, 27, 30 and 39a, Clean Air Action Fund, the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, The Impact Fund, the Bucks County Democratic Committee, Metal Trades Department and dozens of elected officials.
Khan is running in the Democratic primary against former two-term Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former Montgomery County Chief Defender Keir Bradford-Grey, State Rep. Jared Solomon, and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
The primary election is April 23.
