Does Housing Discrimination Still Exist in the United States?
In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states do not have the right to ban same-sex marriage. However, while same-sex couples might be on equal footing with their heterosexual peers in terms of getting hitched, they still find themselves on shaky ground when it comes to buying a home together. According to a 2019 study by Iowa State University, same-sex couples are 73 percent less likely to be approved for a mortgage loan than heterosexual couples. The study also found that even though gay couples are considered "less risky overall" to lenders -- meaning they are no more likely to default on loans and are less prone to prepaying their mortgages -- they can expect to pay between .02 and .2 percent more in interest on such loans. One of the study's authors cautioned that, if nothing else, the results strongly suggest a need for a formal investigation, pointing out that "the potentially existing lending discrimination might just reflect a corner of the iceberg." As of 2019, 26 U.S. states do not have housing protection for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
Same-sex marriage:
In 2009, fewer than four in 10 Americans approved of same-sex marriage; as of 2019, the percentage has climbed to six in 10.
The Netherlands was the first nation to legalize gay marriage, in April 2001.
The TV shows Roseanne and Friends featured gay marriages in the mid-1990s, nearly two decades before same-sex marriage was legalized across the United States.
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