March 06, 2024
Jack Gruber/USA TODAY NETWORK
A letter signed by Sen. John Fetterman requested that funds for the William Way LGBT Community Center be removed from a bill.
Sen. John Fetterman removed money for Philadelphia's William Way LGBT Community Center that he previously supported from a government funding bill, saying it would not pass in the appropriations process.
Fetterman (D) had requested $1 million for the center, but a March 5 letter to Sens. Brian Schatz and Cindy Hyde-Smith surfaced Wednesday in which Fetterman asked to remove the project from the bill. The funding would have been used for renovating and expanding the center.
"After further review, I am writing to withdraw my support and request the removal of the below Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally Directed Spending Project included in the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bill," the letter said.
A statement released Wednesday by Fetterman said he learned in the "11th hour" that the funding in the bill would not pass the appropriations process, but he hopes to continue working to secure funds for the center.
"The choice was either to pull it or watch it get stripped out, attacked by Republicans, and ultimately killed," Fetterman said. "This is not the end of this fight and I am going to fight for William Way to secure their funding in the FY25 appropriations process."
Sen. @JohnFetterman tells me he “1000%” still supports funding the expansion of LGBT community center in Philadelphia, and blames staff for slip-up:
— Joseph Zeballos-Roig (@josephzeballos) March 6, 2024
“It wasn’t my decision.. it was a perfunctory letter that was issued by the staff. I was not part of the process” https://t.co/w6dLqwx2jP
Opponents to the funding, including far-right and anti-LGBTQ social media account Libs of Tik Tok, criticized the center for hosting a monthly event called the Aviary, which is described as the city's friendliest and longest-running kink and fetish party.
"I do not believe that we should penalize this center based on events that are entirely legal among consenting adults," Fetterman said. "I have no problem with what consenting adults do in their private time."
He added, “I’m new here, but I wasn’t aware that Democratic values and priorities are dictated by Libs of Tik Tok."
The William Way Center said in a statement that is was disappointed about funding being pulled "as a result of lies and distortions about our Center shared by political extremists."
"These extremists falsely stated that sexual behavior is allowed in rental programs of the Center, which is inaccurate and against our Center’s code of conduct," it read.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, Darius McLean, the chief operating officer of the William Way Center, and his wife, Celena Morrison, the executive director of the city's Office of LGBT Affairs, were arrested after a traffic stop. The state trooper involved has been placed on restricted duty while the incident is investigated. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker called the incident "very concerning."
