THE DAILY RAMBLE: Is the FHA Expanding the FHA?
Okay okay, is this the case of a government agency expanding itself? For once, NO! This may be a case of acronyms gone wild, but it is vitally important in the expansion of rights for all people to obtain housing without fear of discrimination.
Today the New York Times reported that The Federal Housing Administration (i.e. the FHA) will shortly be proposing new regulations that will ban discrimination in lending based upon sexual orientation. While such discrimination is already banned in New York State and in New York City (SONDA), it is not at the Federal level. To my knowledge this is the first time that this has been proposed.
In my opinion these new regulations will be effectively expanding the FHA - Fair Housing Act to forbid discrimination in housing for LBGT citizens. In the Northeast this really is a no-brainer (and if it isn’t a no-brainer, I wonder about you). In other parts of the country it will be highly controversial. Well, too bad.
Housing should be available to all without regard to who they are, where they are from etc. While you should love your neighbor, if you do not, well get over it.
This evening I ran my monthly Coop Board meeting, and I passed out to all the Board Members summaries of the Fair Housing Act to insure that the members were mindful of their obligation to comply with Federal State and local laws. All Coop Boards should do this every year; but I suspect it rarely happens.
Since the current administration took office this Log Cabin Rockefeller Republican (say that 10 times fast lol) has been less than enamored with the fiscal policies of this Administration. But as a Realtor I think this is a very positive step forward, and kudos to Shaun Donovan, the Secretary of Secretary of HUD. This is a major step forward for equal rights for all citizens.
