Gov. Ige Proclaims April as Fair Housing Awareness Month

Hawai‘i Gov. David Ige

Housing discrimination is inconsistent with the values of equal opportunities and fairness cherished and aspired by Hawai‘i residents and United States citizens, according to Hawai‘i Gov. David Ige, who last week issued a proclamation against housing discrimination.

“I, David Y. Ige, Governor, … hereby proclaim April, 2015 as ‘Fair Housing Awareness Month” in Hawai‘i, and ask all citizens, agencies and institutions of the Aloha State to abide by the letter and spirit of the Fair Housing Act and support an end to housing discrimination,” Ige states in the proclamation.

Forty seven years ago, Congress enacted the Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, — better known as the Fair Housing Act — to expand civil rights protections to prohibit discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, national origin and sex, according to the proclamation. Since then, the Fair Housing Act has been expanded to add protections against discrimination on the basis of disability and family status.

Furthermore, in 2005, the Chapter 515 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes — Hawai‘i’s equivalent to the Fair Housing Act — was expanded to prohibit discriminatory practices on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Several federal, state and local agencies and offices — including the County of Kaua‘i — including the County of Kaua‘i — work together to end housing discrimination, the proclamation states.

The Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority is leading the state’s efforts for April to be designated as Fair Housing Awareness Month in Hawai‘i, to encourage the people of Hawai‘i to attend free fair housing education seminars offered in each county, and to join with state an county Fair Housing Officers in working to eliminate discrimination in housing by increasing public awareness of the fair housing laws in Hawai‘i, according to the proclamation.