Judging the System: Pride and Precedent in Pennsylvania.

In this edition of our ongoing series Judging the System, we’re shining a rainbow spotlight on LGBTQ+ rights in Pennsylvania from legacy to legislation, from protest to precedent.

These aren’t just distant legal battles.  Here in Berks County, LGBTQ+ kids and families live in a state where protections are not guaranteed.  In 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives stripped the LGBT Center of Reading of nearly one million dollars. In 2025, federal funding for the center was entirely cut off. That money would have supported transitional housing, job training, and mental health services for LGBTQ+ folks, many of them minors, who have been thrown out of their family homes after coming out as queer. These aren’t just funding cuts. These cuts represent a purposely cruel decision to leave LGBTQ+ kids and families behind in Berks County.