The Pennsylvania legislature recently became embroiled in controversy after it emerged that the Senate was set to vote on a spending bill that included financial backing from an LGBTQ+ center that holds kinky and fetish parties and that Democratic senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey requested this funding.
X's influential account, Libs of Tiktok, was responsible for exposing the Democrats who were planning to allocate a million taxpayer dollars to Philadelphia's William Way LGBT Community Center, which hosts sexual events.
BREAKING: The Senate Appropriations Committee released a spending bill which is being voted on tomorrow.
It includes $1M of your tax dollars to go towards renovating an LGBTQ Center in PA which boasts rooms to try BDSM and s*x f*tishes and hosts BDSM and s*x k*nk parties.… pic.twitter.com/PKkj6TEd2q
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 5, 2024
Following the revelations, Fetterman and Casey sent a letter calling for defunding the center as part of the 2024 fiscal year spending package. However, the controversy did not end there, as Fetterman later stated that his office decided to withdraw support for the community center and that he was not directly involved in that decision.
Fetterman has now withdrawn his support for an LBGT community center in Philadelphia and requested that funding for its expansion be removed from a HUD appropriations bill pic.twitter.com/St4uhgHDQd
— Akela Lacy (@akela_lacy) March 6, 2024
The senator later explained that his staff decided to stop supporting the funding to avoid "attacks" by Republicans on the government funding bill.
"Unfortunately, at the 11th hour my staff was made aware that funding for William Way, which was in the bill because I championed it, would not pass in the FY24 appropriations process. The choice was either to pull it or watch it get stripped out, attacked by Republicans, and ultimately killed," he said.
Despite all the controversy surrounding the center, Fetterman asserted that he will continue fighting to secure William Way's financial support in the FY25 appropriation process.
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 6, 2024
Congressional appropriators already removed funding for the community center from the bill, and the House approved the amended package on Wednesday.
William Way says the accusations are false
The community center defended itself against the accusations and claimed that funding was eliminated "as a result of lies and distortions about our Center shared by political extremists."
