Published: May 10, 2021
By: Ryan Nelsen | LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE, La. – An attempt to match Louisiana and federal laws on housing discrimination based over sexual orientation or gender identity failed Monday.
Rep. Aimee Freeman, D- New Orleans, said her bill, HB282, would have eliminated discrimination in housing sales and rentals to members of the LGBTQ community. An initial vote found the bill losing 7-4 in the House Commerce Committee before Freeman voluntarily deferred it.
Maxwell Ciardullo, the director of policy at the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, testified with Freeman on the importance of aligning state and federal laws.
“Someone might read our laws and think they could lawfully choose to discriminate against someone based on their gender identity issues and not to sell their home to them,” he said.
Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, an attorney, said the state could violate federal laws if the protected classes did not expand to include LGBTQ members.
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