This is the time of year when many of us in the greater PNW celebrate our connections to the LGBTQ+ community. Yes, Pride Month is here and we should all be proud!
This corner of the country has a long liberal tradition of celebrating inclusiveness. Live and let live is a belief that is embraced by many across our land.
A full nine in 10 non-LGBTQ+ Americans believe LGBTQ+ people should have the freedom to live their lives and not face discrimination. And, according to those surveyed, 84% support equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.
Despite increasing public acceptance, many members of this proud community – which accounts for 7.6% of U.S. adults – are subject to bias in everyday life, including housing. A survey of 12,000 adults in urban areas of the country found 57% reported experiencing housing discrimination. It showed rates of discrimination were much higher among LGTBQ+ people (79%), as well as Black (69%) and Latino (61%) respondents.
Moreover, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance surveyed its 3100-plus members and found 27% believe discrimination against LGBTQ+ potential homebuyers has risen over the last three years. This compares to 21% of members who were surveyed on this question in 2023. (Full disclosure: I am an Alliance member. Since the survey was conducted, membership has grown to above 4000.)
The results are disappointing when factoring in the 50-plus years we have lived building off the Fair Housing Act that gives people of color and other classifications equal rights to housing. It is noteworthy, though, that “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are not specified as protected classes in federal law.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) has sought to address the omission in HR 4439, which addresses the importance of housing and credit protections for the LGBTQ+ community and seeks to add both classes to the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Sadly, the measure has not received bipartisan support.
Change takes time – sometimes a generation or longer. For example, it wasn’t until 1990 that the World Health Organization decided to declassify “homosexuality” as a mental disorder.
More troubling, actions at the state level are taking a decidedly darker turn. At least 328 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced this year (as of June 1) – though no legislation reached the House or Senate during our state’s annual session completed in March. Just the opposite, Washington includes “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” among protected classifications such as when seeking residential real estate services.
Lives are being negatively impacted by state legislation – mainly to limit school curricula and certain books in their libraries – as well as the rhetoric and implicit biases that may occur when a community sows hate. The situation has gotten so dire for some Americans that they are reportedly moving out of state, sometimes out of this country, leaving behind family, friends and jobs.
Bias in housing – and any aspect of life, frankly – has no place in society. Members of the National Association of Realtors® follow the organization’s mission to “preserve, protect and advance the right to real property for all.” NAR members (myself included) believe in fostering a culture where diversity, equity and inclusion thrive – regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity or any other protected classification.
Members of Washington Realtors go a step further. They are required to take a Fair Housing education class every two years, helping to remind all real estate professionals of the importance of aggressively extinguishing discrimination in our industry.
Fair housing for all should be top of mind for Pride Month … and every month.