Mark Pinsley, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania Senate District 16, supports:
- Protecting marriage equality in state law. If federal protections were overturned, a 1996 statutory ban on same sex marriage could come into effect.
- Making a legal name change a simple paperwork process, not a court case.
- Stronger hate crime laws protecting LGBTQ people, immigrants and people of color.
- Writing reproductive and adoption rights for LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians into law. More: What is Mark Pinsley’s position on reproductive freedom?
Changing your name shouldn’t take a court case
Most people never think about this one. In Lehigh County, changing your legal name means:
1. Getting fingerprinted for a criminal background check. 2. Filing a petition with the court and getting a hearing date. 3. Filing again with the Clerk of Court and paying a fee. 4. Paying to publish a public notice in two newspapers. 5. Going to a court hearing with proof of both notices.
(Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas instructions)
The name change procedure as it exists today burdens the county’s legal system, costs applicants hundreds of dollars and takes weeks.
The newspaper notice is the real problem. It was meant to stop people from dodging debts or criminal records. But in practice, it publishes your old and new names side by side, in a searchable public record. For a transgender or gender-expressive person, the newspaper notice permanently links the two. For someone escaping an abusive marriage, it tells the abuser where to start looking.
Pinsley would make name changes an administrative process and end the newspaper requirement.
Common questions
“Won’t this confuse ID systems?” Government records handle changes all the time — name changes after marriage, adoptions, corrections.
“Doesn’t this affect too few people to matter?” How many people are affected isn’t the test. The question is whether government is putting needless obstacles in front of people trying to live normal lives.
“Won’t people who change their names be able to dodge past debt?” Debt is tied to a Social Security Number, not just a name. When a court approves a name change, that update is reported to government agencies and credit reporting agencies. People who change their names are still accountable for their debts.
Where Jarrett Coleman stands
On January 11, 2023, Coleman voted to table a proposed constitutional amendment that would have expanded Pennsylvania’s equal rights protections. The constitution now bans discrimination based on sex. The amendment would have added race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability and more — and let Pennsylvania voters decide on the ballot.
The motion to table passed 27–21, along party lines. (Roll Call 18)
Given the chance to let voters decide whether the constitution should protect people from discrimination, he voted to keep it off the ballot.
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 150 (known as the Fairness Act) would make it illegal to deny services, fire, or refuse to house someone purely because of their LGBTQ+ identity. Jarrett Coleman has not voted on this bill. It would be more likely to pass under a Democrat-controlled Senate.
District 16 covers parts of Lehigh and Bucks counties. The general election is November 3, 2026.
