Donald Trump’s housing department is trying to abolish its anti-discrimination promises
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President Donald Trump’s housing department is seeking to erase anti-discrimination language from its mission statement.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development previously pledged to “build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination”.
According to a memo revealed by The Washington Post, the proposed new version will emphasise “fair, affordable housing and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency”.
Amy Thompson, the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs, said the update was proposed “in an effort to align HUD’s mission with the Secretary’s priorities and that of the Administration.”
It seems that HUD’s purpose now does not include an effort to tackle discrimination.
Thompson added: “An organisation’s mission is never static.
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“A mission statement describes an organisation’s purpose, what it intends to do, and whom it intends to serve. Most importantly, an organisation’s activities must be embodied in its mission.”
She said that the potential new mission statement had been developed with input from the department’s secretary, Dr Ben Carson.
HUD spokesman Raffi Williams told HuffPost that these were “modest changes” which, he said, would “make it a more clear and concise expression of the historic work this agency performs on behalf of the American people.”
Carson has a long history of homophobic remarks.
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He has previously compared gay people to paedophiles and insisted that prisons ‘prove’ being gay is a choice.
HUD and the Justice Department are both being sued after failing to disclose their allegedly anti-LGBTQ policies.
HUD reportedly pulled information relating to LGBT homelessness from its website, and dropped involvement in projects relating to LGBT housing discrimination and homelessness.
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During his confirmation hearing, Carson doubled down on his past comments, attacking “extra rights” or gay people.
The Republican previously insisted that same-sex marriage is a Marxist plot from the New World Order, claiming in a speech to a listed anti-LGBT hate group that gay weddings are part of a plan “to destroy unity [and] bring America down.”
He has also claimed that gay people were responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire, warned that “there will be mass killings once again” over same-sex marriage, and insisted that gay weddings were like car seats for conjoined twins.
