On December 1, just 21 days ago, Randall Coffman moved into his new apartment in Clay County, located just outside of Jacksonville, Florida.
The apartment has its own entrance but is attached to the home of his landlord, Jackie Cooper.
A couple of weeks after moving in, Cooper saw Coffman and warned him she didn’t want him inviting girls over late into the night.
Coffman informed his landlord that wouldn’t be a problem since he’s gay.
"I've been gay since I was born,” said Coffman according to First Coast News. “After that, the harassment for being gay started."
The next day, Cooper approached her new tenant and told him he had to leave – because he’s gay.
Sensing trouble, Coffman began recording the conversation.
Watch the report from First Coast News below.
"Listen to me now, you have to leave this place,” says Cooper in the video. "You didn't tell me you're gay until yesterday."
"Why do I have to tell you I'm gay?,” asked Coffman. “I don't have to tell you."
Cooper responded, "You think I want homosexuals coming in and out of my place like that?"
Cooper denies the issue is Coffman being gay, even though she’s caught on video saying exactly that. She says Coffman failed to provide a copy of his driver’s license.
Even though Cooper’s position is discriminatory, the law is currently on her side.
Jacksonville’s 2017 Human Rights Ordinance protects LGBTQ tenants from housing discrimination, but Cooper’s Clay County home is located outside of the city limits.
Neither Cooper nor Coffman signed a lease making his arrangement a verbal month-to-month agreement. In such cases, a landlord can kick a tenant out with 15 days notice.
According to Coffman, Cooper gave him until the 27th to vacate the apartment, which is just shy of the 15-day rule.
But Coffman, currently looking for a new place to live, says he won’t put up a fight. He tells First Coast News he’s uncomfortable about returning to the property.
