Fair Housing for All

Res. No. _____

Resolution calling upon President Obama to issue an Executive Order that would prohibit discrimination in federally assisted housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity

By  _____________

Whereas members of the LBGT community routinely face discrimination when seeking housing throughout the United States; and

Whereas, the federal government has regrettably not yet amended the Fair Housing Act to prohibit such discrimination; and

Whereas, there are more than four million units of federally assisted housing in the United States; and

Whereas, the federal government has a special responsibility to make certain that such discrimination plays no role with respect to housing units that are federally assisted; and

Whereas, there is a long tradition of taking the initial step of prohibiting discrimination on the federal level by means of an Executive Order; and

Whereas President Kennedy issued Executive Order 11063 prohibiting discrimination in federally assisted housing on the basis of race, color, creed, or national origin saying that it was “neither proper nor equitable that Americans should be denied the benefits of housing owned by the Federal Government or financed through Federal assistance on the basis of their race, color, creed, or national orgin”; and

Whereas, that Executive Order was subsequently amended by to bar discrimination on the basis of gender or disability, or familial status; and

[INSERT OPTION “A” OR “B” AS APPROPRIATE]

[Option A] Whereas, this body, recognizing that it is “neither proper nor equitable” for Americans to be denied housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, has already prohibited such discrimination by local law; and

[Option B] Whereas, this body recognizes that it is “neither proper nor equitable” for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity to be permitted in federally assisted housing; and

Whereas, President Obama stated in 2007 that, “"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect”; now therefore be it

Resolved, That the _________ calls upon President Obama to issue an Executive Order that would prohibit discrimination in federally assisted housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.