Sen. Rick Santorum's recent remarks gave lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups even more reason to attend the 5th Annual Ignite Rally & Legislative Education Day yesterday in Harrisburg.

The rally involved lobbying for a new amendment that would guarantee equal rights for all people, namely in workplaces and housing.

Manish Vaidya, co-chair of the Student Mobilization Project, a youth based group under the Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition (SPARC), organized Penn State students for the rally. The schedule included an educational workshop, a diverse group of speakers in support of the amendment and meetings with individual legislators.

LGBT people are being evicted from their houses and fired from their jobs because of their identity, Vaidya said. He said that most people are unaware of how often the LGBT community experiences this type of discrimination.

"It's a huge oversight that needs to be corrected," he said. "Legislators are responsible for making the effort to build an inclusive Pennsylvania."

Kamilah Cole (sophomore-journalism) agreed.

"We're just trying to secure basic rights and a peace of mind," she said.

Student lobbyists who attended yesterday's rally expected opposition and disagreement with legislators, but many students said they thought the majority of representatives and senators were responsive. However, some representatives still held strong to their personal beliefs.

"Some said flat out that they would not support it," Vaidya said. "They are still letting their personal misconceptions, stereotypes and myths dominate their thinking."

As for Sen. Santorum, he was challenged to a debate by SPARC to confront the comments he made, but he refused to accept the challenge.

Vaidya said he thought Santorum's refusal to debate meant the senator was uneducated on the issue.

"Whether or not Santorum understands the facts, he fails to acknowledge them," Vaidya said.

Cole said Santorum's comments only prove the discrimination the LGBT community faces, and although she said he has the right to his own opinions, he represents everyone and should therefore respect his constituents.

Rally attendee Heather Whidden (junior-psychology) said the laws are important, no matter how legislators view the community.

"As long as there is discrimination, we need laws to protect us," she said. "We're only asking not to be discriminated against because of the people we love."