II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1246 

To extend the protections of the Fair Housing Act to persons suffering 

discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KING, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. 

SMITH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. HARRIS, and 

Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To extend the protections of the Fair Housing Act to persons 

suffering discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation 

or gender identity, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair and Equal Hous5 ing Act of 2019’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 1246 IS

1 SEC. 2. HOUSING. 

2 (a) FAIR HOUSING ACT.—The Fair Housing Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) in section 802 (42 U.S.C. 3602), by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(p) ‘Race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘sex’, ‘sexual orienta7 tion’, ‘gender identity’, ‘handicap’, ‘familial status’, or ‘na8 tional origin’, used with respect to a person, includes— 

9 ‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, sex, sexual ori10 entation, gender identity, handicap, familial status, 

11 or national origin of another person with whom the 

12 person is, or has been, associated; and 

13 ‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 

14 concerning the race, color, religion, sex, sexual ori15 entation, gender identity, handicap, familial status, 

16 or national origin of the person. 

17 ‘‘(q) ‘Sexual orientation’ means homosexuality, het18 erosexuality, or bisexuality. 

19 ‘‘(r) ‘Gender identity’ means the gender-related iden20 tity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related 

21 characteristics of an individual, regardless of the individ22 ual’s designated sex at birth.’’; 

23 (2) in section 804 (42 U.S.C. 3604)— 

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gen25 der identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term 

26 appears; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 1246 IS

1 (B) in subsection (f)(3)(A), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

3 (3) in section 805 (42 U.S.C. 3605), by insert4 ing ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ after 

5 ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term appears; 

6 (4) in section 806 (42 U.S.C. 3606), by insert7 ing ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ after 

8 ‘‘sex,’’; 

9 (5) in section 808(e) (42 U.S.C. 3608(e))— 

10 (A) in paragraph (4), by inserting a semi11 colon at the end; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘sexual 

13 orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’; and 

14 (6) in section 810(f) (42 U.S.C. 3610(f)), by 

15 striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub18 paragraph (B), during the period beginning on the 

19 date of enactment of the Fair and Equal Housing 

20 Act of 2019 and ending on the date that is 40 

21 months after the date of enactment of that Act, each 

22 agency certified for the purposes of this title on the 

23 day before the date of enactment of the Fair and 

24 Equal Housing Act of 2019 shall, for the purposes 

25 of this subsection, be considered certified under this 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 1246 IS

1 subsection with respect to those matters for which 

2 the agency was certified on that date. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the 

4 Secretary determines in an individual case that an 

5 agency has not been able to meet the certification 

6 requirements under this subsection within the 40- 

7 month period described in subparagraph (A) due to 

8 exceptional circumstances, such as the infrequency 

9 of legislative sessions in the jurisdiction of the agen10 cy, the Secretary may extend the period by not more 

11 than 180 days.’’. 

12 (b) PREVENTION OF INTIMIDATION IN FAIR HOUS13 ING CASES.—Section 901 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 

14 (42 U.S.C. 3631) is amended by inserting ‘‘sexual orienta15 tion (as such term is defined in section 802 of this Act), 

16 gender identity (as such term is defined in section 802 

17 of this Act),’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term appears. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS