WHEREAS: April 2017 marks the forty-ninth anniversary of the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act which provides equal opportunity for all Americans in the sale, rental, and financing of housing and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, age, marital status, disability, familial status, color, religion, sex, or national origin; sexual orientation and gender identity; and
WHEREAS: 2017 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of Lawrence’s first fair housing law, Ordinance No. 3749, adopted July 18, 1967;
WHEREAS: The City of Lawrence supports efforts to eliminate discrimination in housing by working to educate all its residents on fair housing rights and responsibilities, and through enforcement of fair housing laws, including Chapter 10 of the Code of the City of Lawrence; and
WHEREAS: The month of April is officially set aside as Fair Housing Month throughout this nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Leslie Soden, Mayor of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, in conjunction with the annual national commemoration, do hereby proclaim the month of April 2017 to be
“FAIR HOUSING MONTH”
in Lawrence, and ask the people of Lawrence to join me in reaffirming our obligation to fair and equal housing for every person who resides or wishes to reside in our city.
Leslie Soden, Mayor
April 11, 2017