Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Any advice for dealing with someone angry about being rejected?

[Michael Barrett (mbarrett]

> On 5/15/07, Byron Patterson<byronpatterson [at] gmail.com>: wrote:
> 
 . . . . . .There are also housing laws that are suppose to
> protect families and individuals from housing discrimination. Most cohousing
> groups are aware of these laws and try to keep in compliance.  . . . 

I am in generally in favor of antidiscrimination laws. My understanding is that 
antidiscrimination laws with respect to housing prohibit discrimination on the 
basis of specific grounds.
>From a link I found: "Federal Fair Housing Acts very clearly prohibit 
>discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, age, gender, familial 
>status or disability."
Seems like "just not liking someone" is not in this list.  Further for an 
antidiscrimination case to be won I believe the plaintiff has to prove a 
consistent pattern of the alleged discrimination, i.e. the case would probably 
have to be against a developer or apartment complex owner where a pattern might 
be demonstrable.
I am definitely not advocating trying to evade the law, I'm just trying to 
understand what is the law. Perhaps someone with more qualifications and 
knowledge than me can further enlighten us.
 
Michael Barrett
Shadowlake Village
Blacksburg, VA