National Association of Realtors: Equal Housing Rights for Gays and Lesbians

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has updated its housing non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation, according to an article on the group's site. The nation's largest organization of real estate agents has amended its code of ethics to include the following verbiage:

• REALTORS® shall not deny equal professional service to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or sexual orientation.

•  REALTORS® shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or sexual orientation.

• REALTORS® in their real estate employment practices shall not discriminate against any person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, or sexual orientation.

The move was the brain-child of Eric Kodner, who issued a call to action on his blog back in 2007 for the NAR to include sexual orientation in its fair housing policy. "The entire process made me proud to be a REALTOR®," says Kodner. "I’ve been so impressed with the way NAR has handled this issue."

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