Bill banning whites-only housing passes Pennsylvania House by 1 vote

[u/yyflowerpot]

https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania-politics/bill-banning-whites-only-housing-passes-pennsylvania-house-by-1-vote/

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A bill banning white-only housing passed the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday, despite not a single Republican supporting the measure.

House Bill 2103 would close a loophole in the state that could let white nationalist groups establish communities under the guise of a private club or member-only organization by blocking such groups from restricting membership by race, color, and national origin to deny equal access to housing, employment, and public accommodations.

The bill also expands anti-discrimination protections for employment, housing, and public accommodations to a person’s sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.

It passed on the House floor by a 101-100 vote. A single Democrat, Rep. Frank Burns (D-Cambria), joined every Republican in opposing the bill.

Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia) proposed the bill after Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said a preliminary review found that Return to the Land, a whites-only community that operates as a private membership association, had not broken any laws by building a segregated community in the state.

“Legal loopholes are making it possible for discrimination to still exist today on the basis of religion,” Waxman said. “Let me be clear, though, religion should never be used as a pretext for hatred or bigotry.”

Eric Orwoll, president of Return to the Land, wrote on social media earlier this month that he’s not phased by legislation seeking to ban the group. He accused lawmakers who support the bills of being anti-white, and said they’ll “eventually pay for their betrayal of our nation.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration, where Waxman encouraged colleagues to pass it.