Chicago, IL — Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, released a statement after the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that they will immediately begin to enforce Fair Housing Act protections to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The announcement comes in the wake of President Joe Biden's executive order to prevent and combat sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination, and the Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that workplace prohibitions on sex discrimination include discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
"For the past four years I have fought alongside LGBTQ and housing activists against a Trump-Carson HUD that was committed to enabling discrimination, prejudice, and bigotry. Today's announcement, in the first weeks of the Biden administration, is a declaration that LGBTQ rights are human rights and that housing discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation is unacceptable and should be relegated to the shameful past," said Quigley. "There is more work to be done to repair the damage of the last four years, but this is a significant step into a more just future that we can be proud of."
During HUD Secretary Ben Carson's tenure, Quigley confronted him time and again on his Department's homophobic and transphobic policies, culminating in Quigley calling for Carson's resignation in June of last year. Additionally, during Carson's tenure, Quigley:
-Repeatedly confronted Carson over his attacks on LGBTQ Americans including his attacks on LGBTQ housing resources, his failure to protect LGBTQ youth, and his discrimination against LGBTQ Americans
-Introduced a resolution condemning Carson's transphobic history
-Invited Carson to meet with LGBTQ activists in Chicago
-Led a letter to Carson on his failure to meet the deadline for review of crucial LGBT nondiscrimination guidance documents
Quigley said, "No one should ever have had to worry that they may be forced to go without a roof over their heads because of who they are or who they love. I am hopeful that President Biden's executive order, the Bostock v Clayton County decision, and HUD's announcement today will mean that no one ever has to carry that fear ever again."
