Philadelphia Mayor Signs Groundbreaking LGBT Rights Legislation: VIDEO

Last month I reported on the passage of an LGBT health benefits bill by Philadelphia's City Council that would give tax credits and incentives to businesses offering health plans that include gay partners and children. It also offers tax credits to businesses offering specific healthcare benefits to trans employees and bans discrimination against non-union trans city employees.

Watch Mayor Michael Nutter sign the bill, AFTER THE JUMP...

Philadelphia Passes LGBT Health Bill, and a Civil Union Bill is Introduced in Pennslvania

Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Cohen has introduced a civil union bill in Pennsylvania.

Philly Mag's Josh Middleton reports:

According to a press release I received from Cohen’s office, the bill would define a civil union “would make all state laws applicable to marriage also applicable to a civil union. The bill also would allow reciprocity for civil unions performed legally in other states and the recognition of same sex-marriage in other states as civil unions in Pennsylvania.”

In the press release, Cohen calls civil unions exactly what they are: a “middle-of-the-road compromise position between constitutionally banning and permitting gay marriages.” And just to appease those religious dissenters, he states that, “Nothing in this bill would require any religion or any clergyman to perform any ceremony uniting people in a civil union. This legislation will merely offer committed gay couples the same legal rights that are bestowed upon married people without the status of marriage.”

In other LGBT-related Pennsylvania news, the Philadelphia City Council has voted to approve a broad LGBT health benefits bill, PGN reports:

Bill 130224, which passed with a 14-three vote, would not only give a tax credit incentive to businesses that offered employee health plans that would include same-sex partners and children, but it would also include a substantial amount of benefits to the transgender community as well.

The bill ,which was introduced by Councilman Jim Kenney, would revamp the city’s health care plan to ban discrimination against non-union transgender city employees and would instate a Transgender Health Tax Credit that would allow companies to offer healthcare specific-needs to the transgender community.

City buildings would also be required to provide gender-neutral bathroom and would also ban employment discrimination in the city’s non-discrimination law.

Meningitis Strains Affecting Gay Men in L.A. and NYC Not Connected, Officials Say

The strains of meningitis affecting gay men in NYC and L.A. are not connected, NBC News reports:

After four cases of meningococcal disease among gay men were reported in Los Angeles county in recent months, there were concerns that the New York City outbreak had spread, but public health officials in Los Angeles and New York say the strains are not connected.

The New York City outbreak has been linked to parties, online websites or apps that men used to find other men for "close or intimate sexual contact," according to health officials. But for more than half of the men sickened by meningitis, there was no evidence that the men had used any of these means to encounter other men, according to public health officials.

Vaccinations are still recommended:

[Dr. Jay] Varma is concerned the outbreak is getting worse. There were a total of thirteen known cases of bacterial meningitis among men last year (triple the total in 2011). But already in the first three months of 2013, four men have been hit, not including Shaad and others in Los Angeles.

“Normally people think of an outbreak as a lot of people getting sick at one point in time – but here the number of cases is much higher than we normally expect,” said Varma.

The rate of meningitis in gay men in New York City has spiked to 60 times higher than their straight counterparts.

Two Additional Meningitis Deaths Identified in Southern California

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation said yesterday it had identified two previous deaths it attributed to a deadly form of meningitis, NBC Los Angeles reports:

Rjay Spoon, 30, of downtown Los Angeles died on Dec. 16; and an unidentified 30-year-old San Diego State University student who lived in Chula Vista died on Dec. 10.

Casey Hayden, who was Rjay Spoon's partner, said he woke up one night to find Spoon vomiting. Spoon's symptoms puzzled doctors until it was too late, he said.

"We went to the hospital and the first thing they said it was was a drug overdose," Hayden told reporters Tuesday. "Then they said it was extremely advanced HIV, which was not the case. He was negative."

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation told the L.A. Times it gave hundreds of vaccinations on Monday to people who showed up at its facilities:

The organization, which initially ordered about 1,000 doses and plans to acquire more, said it would continue providing the shots as needed.

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has provided an FAQ about bacterial meningitis on its site for those of you with questions about the disease and where you can get vaccinated.

Health Officials Seek to Dispense Facts on LA, NY Meningitis Cases

Health officials are speaking out about the recent meningitis cases across the country in an effort to educate the public about the latest outbreak. After incorrectly giving the press news that West Hollywood attorney Brett Shaad had been taken off life support on Friday, West Hollywood Councilman John Duran also speculated about where he might have contracted the disease.

The L.A. Times reports:

Shaad was declared legally brain dead from the disease Friday. His family took him off life support at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

"The doctors don't know where or how Brett contracted meningitis," Ashford said....

...Shaad was declared legally brain dead from the disease Friday. His family took him off life support at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

"The doctors don't know where or how Brett contracted meningitis," Ashford said.

Some of the facts regarding meningitis and this particular case:

"This is not a disease transmittable mainly by sexual contact," said Dr. Parveen Kaur of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "It's spread by respiratory droplets, which means you can be sitting and having a prolonged conversation with somebody and spread the disease without having sex. It can also be transmitted through saliva and intimate activities."

...Many people who have bacterial meningitis "are asymptomatic carriers who themselves are not ill," said Dr. Otto Yang, a UCLA medical professor and expert on infectious diseases. "This is extremely preventable with vaccinations: People who were in contact with the person who died should seriously consider it."

Los Angeles County officials have not determined whether Shaad was afflicted with the same strain that killed gay men in New York, Ashford said.

Shaad, who graduated from Boston College and attended Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, would take long weekend trips abroad with friends, to destinations as far flung as Colombia, Brazil, Hawaii and Asia, Ashford said. "He'd been to China in the two weeks prior to his death."

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is also offering free vaccines. Info here.

Gay West Hollywood Man Brain Dead from Bacterial Meningitis; Not Known if Related to Deadly NYC Outbreak

A gay West Hollywood attorney is brain dead from bacterial meningitis, the AP reports:

Brett Shaad was declared brain dead but remained on life support Friday afternoon, said Elizabeth Ashford, a spokeswoman for Shaad’s family. She declined to release further details.

West Hollywood Councilman John Duran incorrectly said he had been taken off life support earlier on Friday, the wire adds:

Duran, who saw Shaad last weekend, described the openly gay man as being “robust and healthy” prior to Monday, when he began to feel sick.

On Wednesday, he went into the emergency room. By Thursday, he was in a coma.

Tests are underway on the strain of meningitis to determine if it is related to the deadly strain in NYC, against which health officials have urged sexually active gay men to be vaccinated.

It has not been determined how Shaad contracted meningitis. Shaad's family cricized Duran after he mentioned that Shaad attended the recent White Party in Palm Springs. Shaad also recently visited an Equinox gym in WeHo, the AP adds.

Symptoms typically develop within three to seven days of exposure and can include stiff neck, fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light and an altered mental state, often confusion.

More info on meningitis and how it is spread here at the CDC.

According to WABC: "Vaccinations are not being widely recommended in Los Angeles County. But community agencies such as the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center are urging individuals to take precautions."

Added Duran: “We don’t want to panic people. But we learned 30 years ago the consequences of delay in the response to AIDS. We are sounding the alarm that sexually active gay men need to be aware that we have a strain of meningitis that is deadly on our hands."

Our thoughts go out to Shaad's friends and family.