Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/297477
who cannot be discriminated against because the agency covers "non-conformity with gen- der stereotypes." "The Fair Housing Act does not specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited bases," the Housing and Urban Development fact sheet states. "However, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) person's experience with sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination may still be covered by the Fair Housing Act." According to attorney Kendra Presswood of Holmes Beach, the key word there is "may." As the department's examples suggest, the federal government can only offer LGBT folks protection if a case involves other categories — e.g. "disability" or "non-conformity with gender stereotypes." "The courts for years have been saying that sexual orientation is not sex discrimination, so I don't agree with the county attorney that the gender stereotype case law cov- ers you," says Presswood, an attorney with Tampa's Shankman Leone who has worked on employment discrimination cases for more than 15 years. An effeminate gay man may be able to show he was discriminated against because of "non-conformity with gender ste- reotypes," but "that doesn't account for all the gay guys that are not effeminate at all," Presswood explains. "The point of having a county ordinance is to make sure people are protected, not to leave it [to] chance (on the possibility that some court in the future may go against all the prior case law to decide that sexual orientation dis- crimination is 'sex' discrimination after all)," Presswood later writes in an email. "The first Memo had it right, there is no fed- eral or state protection against discrimination based upon sexual orientation," she adds. That's why LGBT rights groups have pushed Congress to pass the Employment Non- Discrimination Act — approved by the Senate last year and still sitting idle in the Republican- controlled House — and "it is also why LGBT organizations try to get local ordinances like this passed, so that there IS protection." County Commissioner Carolyn Mason was the primary motivator for the original memo from DeMarsh. Last fall, she asked him to research human rights ordinances approved by other local governments. She has so far declined to respond to Sarasota News Leader voicemails, but spokesman Preisser says she plans to bring up the matter during the April 22 board meeting. April is Fair Housing Month, and the Sarasota County Commission this month issued a proc- lamation celebrating the 46th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act: "Fair Housing laws provide the opportunity for all citizens to reside in decent and safe housing, free from discrimination." % The Sarasota News Leader No-Nonsense Reporting Sarasota News Leader April 18, 2014 Page 21