On March 14, the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals will be hosting its first-ever LGBT Housing Policy Summit at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The full day-event will feature well-known LGBT and allied housing leaders from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the National Association of Realtors (NAR), HRC and the LGBTQ Task Force.
“NAGLREP has grown substantially, and the time was right to take on some of the critical issues the LGBT community faces,” said NAGLREP founder Jeff Berger.
“Our members over the last year or so were becoming increasingly concerned with losing the momentum the LGBT community has gained over the years highlighted by the 2015 Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling. It is imperative that the LGBT community be included in the Federal Fair Housing Act.”
What to expect at the summit
Congressman David Cicilline of Rhode Island.
According to NAGLREP, the summit will feature various sessions that focus on housing policy, equality issues, such as HUD’s Fair Access Rule and the Federal Fair Housing Act.
The keynote address will be from four-term Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), the co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Caucus and one of six openly gay members of the United States House of Representatives.
After the Marriage Equality Act was passed in 2015, Cicilline introduced the Equality Act, which aims to gird the LGBTQ from discriminatory practices in public accommodations, housing, employment, federal funding, education, credit and jury service.
Also on the list of speakers is Former Obama White House LGBT Liaison Gautam Raghavan, who spearheaded White House outreach efforts around major policy developments for LGBT equality.
“The Housing Policy Summit is an important step to ensure that federal fair housing laws include LGBT protections and HUD continues to recognize the importance of LGBT concerns,” said NAGLREP Policy Committee Chair John Graff in a statement. Graff heads the John Graff Group in Los Angeles.
“The LGBT community has made great strides in recent years. The word ‘home’ means so much to Americans and we must make sure that the LGBT community’s path to homeownership, community inclusion, rental opportunities and access to lending is never hindered.”
The summit is sponsored by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Union Bank and Long & Foster Real Estate.
“Wells Fargo has been a home lender for 160 years and as the nation’s leading residential mortgage lender, we understand how emotional the connection to a home is for Americans,” saidsaid Cerita Battles, SVP, head of Diverse Segments, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, in a statement.
“We know that real estate agents are often the first point of contact for aspiring homeowners. Working with real estate groups like the NAGLREP is key in reaching and educating consumers about homeownership so they become sustainable homeowners.”