Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey have pulled their support for a portion of their spending bill that would give $1M to the William Way Community Center after learning the LGBTQ center was allowing an outside organization to host BDSM parties.
Ahead of Pennsylvania’s vote for their spending bill, Libs of TikTok tweeted about the $1M that was proposed to be allocated to renovating the center and pointed to a BDSM party that is hosted at the center.
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
The senators both signed letters requesting to pull the federal funding of the center after feeling the pushback from Republicans, despite their continued support for the center.
In a statement, the William Way Community Center said “sexual behavior” is not permitted in its meeting facilities and event spaces and said the earmark was removed “as a result of lies and distortions about our Center shared by political extremists.” They went on to say that, “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.”
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Via a spokesperson, Casey stated he believes “that consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want in their free time, but these types of appropriations projects warrant the highest level of scrutiny on behalf of taxpayers.”
Fetterman voiced his resistance to pull funding but his decision was ultimately a tactical one. “The choice was either to pull it or watch it get stripped out, attacked by Republicans, and ultimately killed,” Fetterman said.
However, Fetterman says that he will not allow the Republicans to win. “The William Way LGBT Community Center has been doing critical work in Philadelphia for decades. I do not believe that we should penalize this center based on events that are entirely legal among consenting adults,” he 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,” he continued.
The William Way Center, which has been serving Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community since the 1970s, provides meals, job training, and other services to low-income seniors, many of whom identify as LGBTQ.
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