Residents press council for explicit commitment to protecting LGBTQ residents; three council members pledge support

A resident asked the Scranton City Council to publicly commit to protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents and warned that perceived hostility could harm tourism and events. The speaker urged each council member to state their position.

Councilmember King responded during the meeting’s motions and comments period: "I'm 110% making sure that Scranton is a welcoming community." Councilmember Shuster said he "doesn't single out or bully anyone" and described himself as "a welcoming individual." Dr. Rothchild, who identified as a member of the LGBTQ community during his remarks, said: "I do also want to state that, yes, I am committed to, doing whatever we can on council to protect the LGBTQ community in the city of Scranton." These statements were given during the council-member comment portion of the meeting rather than as a formal vote or ordinance.

The resident who spoke said protecting LGBTQ residents affects civic life and local events, including the Electric City Tattoo Convention and the Scranton half marathon, and argued that a failure to protect queer people could reduce attendance and economic activity. The resident also raised concerns about "invasive testing" for athletes and harassment; those claims were presented as speaker opinion and were not the subject of a council motion or policy vote.

Council members did not introduce or vote on a new ordinance at the meeting; instead, three members publicly affirmed their commitment to a welcoming city. The record shows the remarks were made as individual council comments rather than formal council action.