A federal judge denied a request from the College of the Ozarks to implement a temporary injunction and restraining order against a Biden administration directive pertaining to gender identity.
LGBTQ advocates are praising the Biden administration s Housing and Urban Development Department for interpreting the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Lambda Legal applauds this step by the Biden administration to make the promise of equal housing opportunity real for LGBTQ people across the country, Karen Loewy, senior counsel and senior strategist with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, stated February 11. As our housing work has demonstrated and the Bostock decision confirmed, the harassment and discrimination that LGBTQ people face in housing are forms of sex discrimination that federal law will not tolerate. These actions by [the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] will both prevent future discrimination and ensure that those who have experienced discrimination have a clear avenue for relief.
HUD reverses Trump policy, bans gender identity housing bias
WASHINGTON (AP) The Department of Housing and Urban Development will begin enforcing a ban on housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The move is a major reversal of the position under the Trump administration’s housing secretary, Ben Carson.
“Every person should be able to secure a roof over their head free from discrimination, and the action we are taking today will move us closer to that goal,” said Jeanine M. Worden, acting assistant secretary of Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, in a statement.
The policy change announced Thursday acts off an interpretation of the Fair Housing Act and the Supreme Court’s ruling last summer that gender identity and sexual orientation are protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.