riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (03/28/85)
I'm not sure that this has much to do with net.motss any more, but I guess I'll get my two cents' worth in. > Yes, I certainly would object to an ad such as Steve proposed asking for > Christians (or members of any other religion) exclusively to share a > dwelling. In fact, I would make sure the state attorney general knew about > the advertisement, since it is illegal to discriminate on religious grounds > in housing. While there certainly are laws on the books protecting against discrimination in housing on various grounds (race, religion, and, some places, sexual orientation), such laws generally protect tenants from discriminatory landlords, not from the preferences of potential roommates. As far as I know there are no laws on the books anywhere that prevent me from seeking out a myopic red-bearded jazz-loving granola-eater as my roommate if I so desire. In fact, I believe that many fair housing laws specifically exempt landlords who rent a very small number of units or who live on the premises. The idea is that it makes sense to legislate against large-scale institutionalized discrimination, but that it doesn't make sense to interfere with an individual's choice about who he or she wants to live with. If Steve were running an apartment house and excluding non-Christians, I think we'd be justifiably upset; but if Steve is just looking for a compatible roomie, I don't see the point in limiting the criteria he can use to make his choice. --- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.") --- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle --- riddle@ut-sally.UUCP, riddle@ut-sally.ARPA, riddle%zotz@ut-sally