April 2009 marks the 41st anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act. On April 11, 1968, then-President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the Fair Housing Act). The Act was passed into law by the Congress only a week after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on April 4. When passed, the Act prohibited treating people differently - and adversely - in any aspect of housing based on that person's race, color, national origin and religion. Between 1968 and 1988, Congress revisited the law and, ultimately, through the 1988 Amendments to the Fair Housing Act, added the characteristics of sex, handicap (disability) and familial status (the presence of a child under 18 yrs in a household) as protected classes. Today, in Federal and State of Arizona Fair Housing law, there are seven protected characteristics: race, skin color, nation of origin, religion, sex, disability and familial status. Some local municipalities have opted to lengthen the list the protected classes, e.g. in Tucson, sexual orientation/sexual identity, marital status and age are also protected.
The Fair Housing laws were never designed to provide one group of people an advantage over another, but, rather, to ensure a level playing field among otherwise qualified buyers, homeowners or renters. The Federal Fair Housing Act includes the declaration that every American deserves a "decent home and a suitable living environment."
Fair housing workshops and classes - in English and Spanish - are available through SWFHC at no cost, as is general information. Don't hesitate to contact us at 888-624-4611 or 520-798-1458 or at swfhc@dakotacom.net. Y hablamos espanol...
