There has been a new federal lawsuit filed this week for anti-LGBT bias. This is allegedly aiming to extend the area of the housing notion that anti-LGBT bias that makes up the gender discrimination under the current federal law.
The lawsuit was filed by Lambda Legal, which claims that a property owner in Boulder County, Colorado violated the federal Fair Housing Act and the Colorado anti-Discrination Act. It allegedly happened when the owner denied housing a same-sex couple that has been married for five years.
According to Washington Blade, the 19-page complaint claims that the two transgender, Tonya Smith and Rachel Smith rented a two-bedroom home in Gold Hill, Colorado with their children. Deepika Avanti, the owner of the home rental, showed willingness to rent the home to the two transgender, but her decision changed when she finally knew the couple.
Avanti allegedly wrote to the couple in an email after meeting the family. This time, she expressed disapproval to offer the house to them based on the couple's "uniqueness" and a fear it would put at risk at her dignity in the community.
"Your unique relationship would become the town focus, in small towns everyone talks and gossips, all of us would be the most popular subject of town, in this way I could not be a low profile," Avanti stated in her email. Tonya Smith wrote in a statement that Avanti's decision to decline for them to rent the housing for the family was "all so stunning and upsetting."
The legal action followed after the couple claims for a bias in violation of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status, and the Fair Housing Act.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development states that the act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status. But the Fair Housing Act does not specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited bases.
Although the federal law has no explicit prohibition on anti-LGBT discrimination, the law suit vies Avanti for discriminating the couple on the basis of gender, familial status and gender stereotyping, as mentioned in NYC Epeak.
It calls for the court's attention for Avanti to explain her decision that allegedly shows discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, and/or familial status in the sale, leasing, or rental of housing. Moreover, the litigation also emphasizes on complete fair housing training to prevent her from discriminating again; and award damages as a result of violating the law.
Meanwhile, because of so much discrimination, a lot of lesbians, gays, bisexual, and LGT are asking for the states to add protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. And the Fair Housing Act may not actually specifically in sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited bases. However, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender or LGBT person's experience with sexual orientation or gender identity housing discrimination may still be covered by the Fair Housing Act.
