HUD Plans to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination |
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Transgender Law Center notes:
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) applauds the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for announcing new plans to ensure that HUD’s housing programs are open to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. To date, HUD is the first federal agency to publicly propose guidelines that would explicitly address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
HUD’s announcement represents an important victory in the struggle to end discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. “This is a great day,” noted Masen Davis, Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center. “Housing is such a basic need, yet we regularly hear from transgender people who experience housing discrimination and fear homelessness.” Indeed, TLC’s 2008 Transgender Economic Health survey of almost 650 transgender Californians revealed that housing protections and programs are critical for transgender people. Among survey respondents, 19% experienced housing discrimination and 21% have been homeless. Meanwhile, home ownership for transgender Californians is disproportionately low (20%) compared to the overall population in California (56%).
The new HUD regulations would require grantees and those who participate in the Department’s programs to comply with local and state non-discrimination laws that cover sexual orientation or gender identity, such as California’s Fair Employment & Housing Act. They would also clarify family status to ensure greater access to subsidized housing programs for transgender people and their families, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and will mandate that any FHA-insured mortgage loan be based on the credit-worthiness of a borrower and not on unrelated factors or characteristics such as sexual orientation or gender identity.
In addition, HUD plans to commission the first-ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing, which will provide vital data for our community.
HUD’s announcement
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2009/HUDNo.09-206
Transgender Law Center
http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/
