Pennsylvania Senator Jim Ferlo’s press conference on his bill to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity ended on a personal note.

“I’m gay. Get over it. I love it,” Ferlo said.

The bill was announced in light of a recent attack on a gay couple in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, Sept. 24, three suspects are expected to be taken in and charged with the beating of a gay couple in Center City on Sept. 11. The three — Philip Williams, Kathryn Knott, Kevin Harrigan — were in their early 20s and former students from Archbishop Wood High School in Bucks County.

The victims were walking near Rittenhouse Square when approached by a large group that was visibly intoxicated, witnesses said. After asking one of the victims if the other was his boyfriend, witnesses said the group beat the two while yelling homophobic slurs. The suspects have been charged with assault, but the attack was not classified as a hate crime because sexual orientation is not included in the law.

“I know that many people do not report hate crimes because of the fear of being out and about,” Ferlo said before coming out to cameras, press and fellow colleagues. “Hundreds of people know I’m gay, I just never made an official declaration. I never felt I had to wear a billboard on my head.”