Brady Pappas, center, speaks at a Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission meeting in York City's government offices on Sept. 3, 2025. Panelists, from left to right, are Clare Twomey, Executive Director of the York Human Relations Commission, Christina Wingert, executive director of the Rainbow Rose Center, Rev. D. Marie Tribble, pastor at Heidelberg United Church of Christ, and Ashleigh Strange, Executive Director of the Governor's Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs.
Jordan Wilkie / WITF News
Jordan Wilkie / WITF News
Brady Pappas, center, speaks at a Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission meeting in York City's government offices on Sept. 3, 2025. Panelists, from left to right, are Clare Twomey, Executive Director of the York Human Relations Commission, Christina Wingert, executive director of the Rainbow Rose Center, Rev. D. Marie Tribble, pastor at Heidelberg United Church of Christ, and Ashleigh Strange, Executive Director of the Governor's Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs.
Drag performer Vayne Disharoon was walking in downtown York with friends when a man started yelling homophobic slurs and derogatory language at them, according to York City’s Human Relations Commission.
Disharoon responded, and the man, 22-year old York resident Devin Harbaugh, escalated to physical violence, according to the commission’s statement and accounts of the incident Disharoon has shared with news outlets and on social media.
“It was a hate-fueled incident that led to that assault,” said Michael Muldrow, Commissioner for York City’s police department, after a community meeting Wednesday night at the York City government offices.
The York County District attorney charged Harbaugh with aggravated assault and strangulation for the Aug. 22 incident.
Muldrow said if the state or the city had anti-hate crime laws that included gender identity or sexual orientation, the case would qualify as a hate crime. But current protections against intimidation do not extend to the LGBTQ+ community, either locally or in state law.
“We had to address the assault, but there were limitations for what we could do to address the hate,” Muldrow said.
Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Commission hosted Wednesday night’s meeting. The commission is the state’s civil rights enforcement agency that operates in the executive branch, under the governor.
The City of York has its own Human Relations Commission. Executive Director Clare Twomey said Wednesday her office is seeking public support to enact a hate crime ordinance for the city.
A hate crime ordinance is in many ways a formality, Twomey said.
“The reason we want to pursue it, the more local jurisdictions that pursue it, the louder the messages is on a number of levels. On one level, it says to the state, ‘We want this passed,’” Twomey said, referring to a statewide expansion of hate crime protections.
A city ordinance also shows a victim that the city recognizes certain actions as hate crimes even if the state doesn’t, Twomey said. Labeling an act as a hate crime also sends a message to the district attorney and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, she said.
The FBI tracks hate crimes nationally, but the data is based on state reporting, which is limited by state definitions of hate crimes. Sometimes, the federal government pursues its own charges. Federal hate crime laws currently protect LGBTQ+ people.
Muldrow said he contacted the FBI about the Aug. 22 incident. The FBI did not respond to questions by the time of publication.
Edquina Washington, York city council president, said she supports an amendment to Ordinance 185 to include protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The next steps are for the city’s Human Relations Commission to propose changes, vote on them, run them by the county lawyer, then take them to the city council for a vote, Washington said.
In the Legislature, Democrats are also trying to expand protections. Last legislative session, Democrats passed a package of bills to expand the state’s anti-hate crime laws out of the state House, only for them to stall in the Republican-controlled Senate.
“We plan to move on this current package this session and we again urge our colleagues in the Senate to join us and stand up to all forms of hate by providing needed protections to ensure everyone feels safe in their community,” said Elizabeth Rementer, spokesperson for House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery.
The current laws cover ethnic intimidation, including malicious intention due to race, color, religion or national origin. Democratic lawmakers’ proposal would extend protections to include ethnicity, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, age or autism spectrum disorder.
State Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, D-York, attended Wednesday’s community meeting. She said LGBTQ+ people need protections from prejudice, and that not including their identities in protected classes against hate-based intimidation is itself a prejudice.
Senate Republicans did not respond for this story.
Strength from support
Brady Pappas was with Disharoon on the night of the assault. Pappas said they attended Wednesday’s meeting to add their voice to the calls for action to prevent more violence.
“This is an experience queer people sadly often have, especially in small towns,” Pappas said. “I had a lot less hope immediately. I was really scared. I also questioned how this would affect how I express myself and how I would see York City.”
Research into identity-based violence shows Pappas is right about LGBTQ+ people more often having experience with violence.
According to the Williams Institute, a research center at UCLA law focused on sexual orientation and gender identity, “LGBT people are nine times more likely to experience violent hate crimes than non-LGBT people.”
But Pappas said the outpouring of support is helping them find a sense of security after the assault.
“I’m feeling a lot more hopeful, somehow, and it was just nice to be supported by a lot of people who also feel the same way,” Pappas said.
The Wednesday evening event was attended by several dozen residents, as well as Christina Wingert who runs the local LGBTQ+ center, Rev. D. Marie Tribble, who pastors the Heidelberg United Church of Christ, Ashleigh Strange, executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, staff from the statewide and York Human Relations Commissions, city council members Washington and Teresa Johnescu, commissioner Muldrow and three of his police officers, and Rep. Hill-Evans.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
