Pittsburgh is a great place to be gay

by Sue

In honor of the Primary Pittsburgh Project, I'd like to take a few inches of this blog to review why I think this is a great place for the LGBTQ/gay/queer community.

First, the City of Pittsburgh has codified our civil rights and civil protections. It is illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender presentation in the areas of employment, housing or public accommodation. That was a very hard fought battle that took place well over a dozen years ago. That's a long time in gay history.

Second, Pittsburgh has many wonderful community based organizations and service organizations. We are home to Persad Center, the nation's first LGBT mental health provider. The Gay & Lesbian Community Center is in Squirrel Hill. The Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and Shepherd Wellness Center grew from our communities to provide much needed services. GLENDA is still the best way to meet new gay people in a comfortable environment AND contribute to the community. PFLAG is there for our families. GLSEN and Voices of Hope (along with the GLCC and Persad's YEP programs) offer support and uplift our young people. The list goes on and on, but Pittsburgh is fortunate to have such a strong safety net

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Pittsburgh Reaches Out to Gay and Lesbian Tourists

The wild success of gay specific marketing campaigns in destinations like Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale is apparently having a ripple effect in major cities across America, like Pittsburgh, where the pursuit of the pink dollar is reaching a fever pitch.

Like so many other cities, Pittsburgh is trying to attract more gay and lesbian visitors by tackling misconceptions about the town head on and showing the gay and lesbian community what it has to offer.

"Statistics tell us there is a lot of money to be had, a lot of money to spend," said Beverly Morrow-Jones of Visit Pittsburgh according to WTAE TV. "They like spending money and they like having a good time, and I think, just like everybody else, the gay and lesbian community wants to feel welcomed."

To this end Pittsburgh launched the LGBT specific Navigaytor travel guide, a joint venture between the Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau and Altus Group, a gay-owned marketing firm specializing in gay and lesbian and tourism and hospitality advertising. The purpose of the guide is to better expose the gay friendly side of Pittsburgh and to position the city as an inviting destination for gay and lesbian travelers.

So far the city’s efforts to be more gay welcoming have been greeted enthusiastically by Pittsburgh’s local LGBT community.

"I think it's huge," said Gary Van Horn of the Delta Foundation, which helps to unite Pittsburgh's gay community Van Horn. "I think they see that there is a huge market there and to kind of encompass that and bring them to Pittsburgh, I think, is great."

For more information on Pittsburgh gay-friendly travel options, go to: www.visitpittsburgh.com.

Pittsburgh Lesbian & Gay Film Festival stars today

The Pittsburgh Lesbian & Gay Film Festival begins its 22nd edition today, with more than 30 films, shorts and events running through Oct. 28.

The festival celebrates the work of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered writers, actors and directors and ranges from documentaries to dramas to comedies to horror flicks.