Trump Administration's Proposed Rule Uses Religion to Limit Access to Federal Housing

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This week, Interfaith Alliance submitted a formal comment opposing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed rule revision to the Equal Access Rule. The proposed rule would eliminate the longstanding nondiscrimination protections for transgender and gender nonbinary people seeking access to federally funded housing and emergency shelter. 

The department claims the current Equal Access Rule places an unacceptable burden on faith-based providers. However, this claim is not supported by the evidence. The current rule is religiously neutral and applies to all federally funded providers regardless of faith affiliation, and the rule has never generated a formal complaint or waiver request from a faith-based provider. 

Invoking religious freedom to justify discrimination is the opposite of religious freedom. 

Interfaith Alliance urges HUD to withdraw this proposed rule and reaffirm its commitment to ensuring that federally funded housing programs are truly open to all. You can read our full comment here.