Lingle says housing bill
has her support

Gov. Linda Lingle said she would likely sign a bill to prohibit discrimination in housing based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

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Similar bills have died in the past, but a measure appears to be headed for the Governor's Office this year after the opposing sides compromised on a key sticking point.

"I think anything that reduces discrimination of any kind is a good thing," Lingle said yesterday. "I believe this is the bill where there was a compromise that was reached, and I think that's also significant.

"I haven't read it yet, but it's very likely that I would sign it."

The House-approved proposal would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classifications protected against discrimination under existing fair housing laws. An exemption for religious organizations was crafted with the help of officials from Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

Advocates have sought similar proposals for the past 10 years, but those attempts failed largely because of concerns raised by BYU-Hawaii that such legislation could force the institution to provide housing for gays, lesbians and others whose beliefs run against those of the Mormon Church, which sponsors the Laie school.

Opponents argued that the new law would create a special class of people protected under the law and that the legislation is an attempt to enforce acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people against the religious values of some landlords.

The opponents also argue that there is no evidence to support the notion that gays and others are being discriminated against. Advocates say that because gays, lesbians and others are not included in the law, they have been unable to provide advice or support on how to pursue a legal claim.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the House bill yesterday with an amendment to fix a technical error on one line of the bill.

"We just went with what the parties have agreed to because it's been so long," said Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa (D, Nanakuli-Makua). "The fact that the parties were able to agree after these many years -- I think it should become law."

House Bill 1715, Senate Draft 1, fixes an error in one line of the bill where the words "sexual identity" were used instead of "gender identity." Hanabusa said the parties involved agreed to the change.

"If it is just technical changes, we will probably agree to the changes," said House Judiciary Chairwoman Sylvia Luke (D, Pacific Heights-Punchbowl). "I'm very pleased that the parties were able to work the differences out and we're very close to passing this legislation.

"Because of that, I think there's a good chance of it passing this year."

The Senate is expected to approve the bill and send it to the House. If the House agrees to the change, it would then go to Lingle.