Legislation to prevent white nationalist housing communities in Pa., including Fairness Act protections, passes Pa. House and heads to Senate
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta April 28, 2026 | 3:18 PM
HARRISBURG, April 28 – A bill to block the creation of whites-only housing communities in Pennsylvania passed the state House today 101-100.
House Bill 2103, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Ben Waxman, D-Phila., is a direct response to efforts by extremist groups to exploit legal loopholes and create segregated communities.
The legislation comes after the Return to the Land organization reportedly formed a whites-only community in Arkansas and has expressed intentions to expand to Pennsylvania and other states.
Waxman’s bill would prevent any organization from discriminating against protected groups under the guise of being a private club or member-only organization, closing loopholes that could enable exclusionary housing practices.
In addition, the bill was amended by Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Phila., to incorporate provisions known as the “Fairness Act,” significantly strengthening Pennsylvania’s anti-discrimination laws by updating the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. The amendment would explicitly add protections against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodations.
“This has always been simple: Pennsylvania is better when it’s fairer,” Kenyatta said. “For too long certain Pennsylvanians, particularly those in the LGBTQ community have had to look over their shoulders. Wondering if at any moment they could lose access to employment or housing simply for being who they are — that has to end. Advancing the Fairness Act out of the House for the second time is about living my Christian faith and the values of love that ground it. Gov. Shapiro has made it clear he will sign this bill into law; we must get it to his desk.”
The Fairness Act language would reinforce that discrimination, whether based on race, color, religion, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability or familial status, has the power to threaten public welfare, economic stability and the fundamental rights of Pennsylvanians. It asserts that equal access to housing, employment and public spaces is a civil right.
“Legal loopholes are making it possible for discrimination to still exist today on the basis of religion. Let me be clear, though, religion should never be used as a pretext for hatred or bigotry. I am proud that this bill has passed through the House, and I am hopeful that we can work with the Senate to get it over the finish line,” Waxman said.
Together, H.B. 2103 and the Fairness Act amendment aim to ensure Pennsylvania remains a place where discriminatory, exclusionary communities cannot take root and where equal protection under the law is clearly defined and enforced.