🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug19.034101.17124@ssc.wa.com> tad@ssc.wa.com (Tad Cook) writes:
>In article <1992Aug18.203053.13895@u.washington.edu> jhli@carson.u.washington.edu (Jianghong Li) writes:
>>A female graduate student or a post-doctoral fellow, or a visiting
>>scholar is wanted to a spacious two-bedroom apartment in Ballard. 

  [ .. stuff deleted .. ]
>
>Sorry, but gender discrimination in housing is illegal in the 
>city of Seattle.

Sorry, but in this case it's not.  If you are looking for a roommate, you can
be as specific as you like (ads for vegetarian, Nepalese, Jewish quadroplegics
are legal, for instance, although you might be hard pressed to actually find a
roommate).  If you are renting a vacant house or apartment, then
discrimination of all kinds is illegal.  From reading the note, it sounds like
the person is looking for a roommate, not trying to rent a vacant house,
although the original posting is a bit vague.

-- 
    				|   Eric Koldinger
    Your tax dollars at play.	|   University of Washington
	 			|   Department of Computer Science
				|   kolding@cs.washington.edu

xylorg@milton.u.washington.edu (XyLoRg) writes:

>>>A female graduate student or a post-doctoral fellow, or a visiting
>>>scholar is wanted to a spacious two-bedroom apartment in Ballard. 
>>
>>Sorry, but gender discrimination in housing is illegal in the 
>>city of Seattle.
>
>Actually, it looks to me like the ad asks for a female grad, 
>or a post-doc male
>(fellow).  IMHO I took the ad to ask for mature persons, and not as a gender
>discrimination.

"fellow" is the term used to describe the position.  maybe it's sexist.
the biggest clue that i got that a tenant of a particular gender was
desired is the subject heading.


-- 
 /'''   The Machman     machman@milton.u.washington.edu    david c carroll
 c-OO                                                                      
    \                     "Big Science.  Hallelujah"
   -                                                                       

In article <1992Aug19.155211.14984@beaver.cs.washington.edu> kolding@cs.washington.edu (Eric Koldinger) writes:
>In article <1992Aug19.034101.17124@ssc.wa.com> tad@ssc.wa.com (Tad Cook) writes:
>>In article <1992Aug18.203053.13895@u.washington.edu> jhli@carson.u.washington.edu (Jianghong Li) writes:
>>>A female graduate student or a post-doctoral fellow, or a visiting
>>>scholar is wanted to a spacious two-bedroom apartment in Ballard. 
>
>>Sorry, but gender discrimination in housing is illegal in the 
>>city of Seattle.
>
>Sorry, but in this case it's not.  If you are looking for a roommate, you can
>be as specific as you like (ads for vegetarian, Nepalese, Jewish quadroplegics
>are legal, for instance, although you might be hard pressed to actually find a
>roommate).  If you are renting a vacant house or apartment, then
>discrimination of all kinds is illegal.  

Eric is essentially correct, but not exactly.  I believe it is illegal to
discriminate on the basis of race or ethnic origin, even when looking for a
roommate, so one couldn't legally specify 'Nepalese'.  For a (slightly) more 
realistic example, Brigitte Fonda would not legally be able to advertise for a
'Single White Female' roommate in the state of Washington, although she
could advertise for a `Single Female' (but that, I suppose, doesn't trip so
trippingly off the tongue).

To get horribly exact about it, the following is information I got by
visiting the Student Housing Office at the UW: 

"It is against the law to discriminate in the City of Seattle and in
unincoporated King County based on:
	Race, Color, Religion, National origin, Sex, Age, Handicap, Marital
	Status, Parental Status, Sexual Orientation, Ancestry*, Political
	Ideology*

*Covered by Seattle Ordinance only."

	--- "Did someone say you couldn't live there?", pamphlet published
		by Seattle Human Rights Department and King County 
		Affirmative Action Program

When looking for a roommate, however, you can be more picky.  I found the
following in December 1989 (unfortunately, I couldn't find it when I
returned today, but I doubt that means the ruling was reversed.)

"Shared Housing Discrimination Policy

The Attorney General of the State of Washington has declared that `it is
not contrary to the Washington State law against discrimination for a
person to discriminate on the basis of sex, age, or religion in selecting a
roomate [sic] with whom to share living quarters, or for a person to
specify in an advertisement for a roomate that this roomate must be of a
particular sex, age or religion.'  However, shared housing listings which
contain a preference for a specific race is [sic] discriminatory and will
not be accepted by the Student Housing Affairs Office.

AGO 1976 No. 17, Washington State Human Rights Commision Declatory Ruling
#18, 41 Wn. App 283, 704 P 2d 632 (1985)."

			Greg Barnes
			greg@cs.washington.edu

In article <1992Aug19.034101.17124@ssc.wa.com> tad@ssc.wa.com (Tad Cook) writes:
>
>Sorry, but gender discrimination in housing is illegal in the 
>city of Seattle.

 So? Report her or shut up!

Wassail,
Al Billings