FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | July 2, 2010

NCLR Applauds New Federal Fair Housing Policy Protecting LGBT People

A statement from the National Center for Lesbian Rights

(Washington, D.C, July 2, 2010)—Today the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) praised the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new policy that provides lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families with further assistance when facing housing discrimination. The new guidance treats gender identity discrimination most often faced by transgender persons as gender discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, and instructs HUD staff to inform individuals filing complaints about state and local agencies that have LGBT-inclusive discrimination laws.

A statement from Maya Rupert, Esq., Federal Policy Attorney, National Center for Lesbian Rights::

“We applaud HUD’s announcement that it will assertively enforce the Fair Housing Act to protect LGBT people and their families from gender-based housing discrimination. We also applaud HUD’s announcement earlier this month that it will jointly investigate or refer instances of alleged housing discrimination against LGBT people to state and local governments that provide explicit protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

This policy is a welcome step towards helping to end housing discrimination against LGBT people. People should not be denied a home because of who they are, or who they love.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
www.nclrights.org.

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