Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere – Los Angeles
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New HUD Rule Delivers for LGBT Americans
01 week ago
Last year, we told you about a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regarding equal access to HUD housing programs regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Among the key requirements of the rule is a prohibition on inquires regarding sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as a prohibition on using sexual orientation or gender identity as grounds for decision-making in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs. Additionally, the rule brings the definition of “eligible families” into the 21st century by including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT).
This afternoon, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that the final rule will be published in the Federal Register early next week, meaning that it will take effect in just a little over one month from today! Needless to say, this is a tremendous step forward in efforts to stamp out discrimination against LGBT people in housing.
Of critical importance, the rule will require all organizations that operate HUD-assisted or HUD-insured housing facilities to serve LGBT Americans looking for shelter and housing—including religious organizations. As a coalition of more than 30 civil rights organizations (including the ACLU) wrote to HUD last year, once a religious organization chooses to provide housing services or programs with the aid of federal funds and benefits from HUD, it cannot shield itself from traditional safeguards that protect civil rights in the provision of those services. Those religious organizations that provide wholly private housing services will be unaffected by this new rule. We are pleased that HUD said that all organizations must provide equal access to HUD housing programs and did not sanction the use of religion to discriminate.
As Secretary Donovan stated last year at the time of the publication of the proposed rule, “This is a fundamental issue of fairness. We have a responsibility to make certain that public programs are open to all Americans. With this proposed rule, we will make clear that a person’s eligibility for federal housing programs is, and should be, based on their need and not on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The ACLU could not agree with Secretary Donovan more strongly. This new federal rule will move us one step closer to an America where decent, affordable housing is available to all Americans.
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Federal Housing Protections for Transgender Tenants
01 year ago
As Change.org’s Adam Amir put it, the Obama administration has tossed the gay and transgender communities a few more crumbs. First, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan announced earlier this month that the agency would pursue cases of housing discrimination against LGBT tenants. Now there’s news that HUD is expanding its interpretation of federal housing policy to include protections for gender identity.
Although the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 as part of the Civil Rights Act to prevent housing discrimination based on race, religion, and national origin, in its current form the law doesn’t explicitly extend to sexual orientation and gender identity.
It’s welcome news. Studies by New York-based Queers for Economic Justice have shown that the vast majority of queer and transgender folks who could benefit from HUD’s increasingly privatized housing are of color and, because of rampant job discrimination, have incomes that fall well below national averages.
Another recent study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force also found that housing bias is an endemic problem in the queer community. An astounding 19 percent of transgender respondents reported homelessness due to discrimination because of their gender identity.
“Ending discrimination in housing is absolutely vital. Everyone deserves to have a safe home where they do not have to worry about eviction or harassment simply because of their gender identity,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality told reporters.
Back in October, HUD announced a series of initiatives aimed at addressing such discrimination. The new steps included requiring all applicants for HUD grants to comply with state and local non-discrimination laws, and developing new regulations that included queer families in the agency’s programs.
The new guidelines also mandate that HUD staffers inform tenants of their rights and, in states with explicit protections, jointly investigate any bias complaints with local law enforcement. Currently, 13 states and the District of Columbia include sexual orientation in non-discrimination laws.
The bad news is that it’s still legal in 38 states to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. And the federal legislation that could fix that problem remains stalled in Congress, with little real White House support for its movement.
Photo: Creative Commons/Delusion Productions