European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 12, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday january 12, 19�3 . The stars and stripes Page 9 s Case Springfield mass. Apr a court Victory by Catholic landlords who turned away an unmarried Cou pie has shaken up the dispute Over where the Church ends and the state begins. Civil rights advocates say the december ruling sets Down a fearful Legal precedent and could Lead to rent applications that ask Quot Are you a homosexual a or Quot have you Ever had an abortion a but supporters say it safeguards Freedom of religion and offers Hope to worshippers determined to live by their beliefs in a secular society. They Hail the ruling for breaking a Long pattern of state Laws that defend tenants and alternative lifestyles. Quot we were very surprised because of the Way things Are going in Massachusetts. The governor is pro any lifestyle a said Louise Desilets who co owns the apartment building in the Case. Long before Republican gov. William f. Weld fought for abortion and Gay rights lawmakers had banned discrimination in housing on the basis of race religion ethnicity disabilities income gender sexual preference and marital status. It was that last prohibition adopted 35 years ago that Cynthia Tarail and math Lattanzi ran up against. The couple both 26, phoned Desilets and her husband Paul in August 1989 to rent a $400-a-month apartment in a four unit building in Turners Falls a town of 55,000 residents 40 Miles North of Springfield. Desilets brother Ronald co owns the building and he too is roman Catholic. The would be tenants were told that unmarried couples were not Welcome. Quot in a the religious education director at our Parish a Florida woman won t for red sox fort Myers Fla. Up a a fort Myers woman has challenged the City a right to Force her to move to allow construction of a major league baseball stadium Complex. Angela Groome 45, is being sued by the City for refusing a $55,000 offer for her Home which sits on what is slated to be the parking lot of the City of Palms Park the new Winter Home of the Boston red sox. Groome is the last remaining resident of the 50-year-old neighbourhood. Thirty Homes have already been razed to make Way for the facility. Eighteen months ago she first received notice of the City a intention to exercise a eminent Domain a the right of the government to take Over private property for the Public Good. A a in a never even heard of eminent Domain before this a Groome said in sundays Miami Herald. A now in a ready to write a Book on it. I want to go on a speaking tour to warn people about on thanksgiving Day Groome Spray painted a message on the outside of the White picket Fence surrounding her Corner lot Quot on this Day of thanksgiving be thankful your House was not taken by the City last summer the City gave her a Check for $55,000 to pay off her mortgage. Groome said the Money is still sitting in the Bank despite a circuit judges ruling in june that the City had the right to assume the property. She wants the City her find a comparable a House a three bedrooms two bathrooms a Large Back Yard and mortgage payments of $200 per month a before she will move. But she doubts $55,000 will be enough. A my life has been turned upside Down by this a she said. A i done to want to leave my City officials declined to discuss the situation citing the pending lawsuit scheduled to be heard in april. I. Can imagine a landlord redoing his tenant application to include a line that says a Check the following boxes if you have had an abortion engaged in premarital sex if you Are Gay if you Are not Christian. V a Michael Duffy Massachusetts commission against discrimination Louise Desilets said. A for me to teach one thing and condone another is Tarail and Lattanzi complained to the Massachusetts commission against discrimination. The state attorney general Homce then sued asking a Superior court judge to order the landlords to comply with the ant discrimination statute on marital status. The Law exempts landlords who live on site but the Desilets live elsewhere. A America is supposed to be a melting pot of people with All sorts of different beliefs and cultural identities a Tarail said. She said Ronald Desilets was Quot trying to ban my values and ban my beliefs from his but judge George Cady ruled that the state was threatening the landlords religious Freedom. A the states interests in protecting unmarried Coha Bitting couples from discrimination is not such a Par amount and compelling estate interest As to outweigh the individuals right to the free exercise of religion a Cady wrote in his dec. 21 decision. Michael Duffy chairman of the commission against discrimination said the decision runs Quot contrary to the direction the courts have he said he fears the judges reasoning can be used to condone a landlords rejection of a tenant for just about anything shunned by an organized Church. A i. Can imagine a Duffy continued Quot a landlord redoing his tenant applications to include a line that says a Check the following boxes if you have had an abortion engaged in premarital sex if you Are Gay if you Are not but the decision heartened those who believe the . Constitution protects religion not Only As a set of private beliefs but also As a moral guide. Nicholas Nikas a lawyer for the american family association said the ruling shows a the state cannot bludgeon christians into violating their rights to religion without running afoul of constitutional the Tupelo group which opposes por. No Graphy and abortion argued the landlords Case for free. A Quot a a the state attorney general a office is deciding whether to Appeal the ruling. At least one lawyer for the greater Boston real estate Board predicted it could be overturned. A a it a one thing to protect the practice of your own religion but this is. To allow someone to dictate to somebody else what kind of religious scruples they should follow a attorney Philip Lapatin said. The King of dolls Karen gels senior program manager of Ashton Drake galleries in Chicago inspects limited edition Elvis Presley dolls. The 16-Inch dolls which sell for $99.95 apiece portray Presley As he appeared on a december 1968 television special. The doll was created to Mark the birthday of a the King of Rock a Roll who died aug. 16, 1977. Presley was born Jan. 8,1935. Students show rising social concern racial understanding crucial Many polled freshmen say los Angeles up College freshmen Are much More interested in racial issues and social change than in years past said a study released monday. The 27th annual study of entering College freshmen was conducted by the graduate school of education at the University of California los Angeles. It found that 42 percent of the students surveyed believe it is a a essential to promote racial understanding. The figure compares with 33.7 percent m 1991. Similarly a record High of 85.1 percent of College freshmen disagree with the proposition that a racial discrimination is no longer a major problem in in 1991, 79.7 percent of those surveyed Dis agreed with that statement. A the circumstances surrounding last Springs riots in los Angeles seem to have been the catalyst for a re examination of racial issues across the nation Quot said Survey director Eric Dey. Quot by and Large students have responded by re committing themselves to promoting racial the National Survey of 213,630 students at 404 colleges and universities showed that a record 40.5 percent participated in an organized demonstration last year up from 39 percent in 1991. Researchers said the figure continues a pattern of renewed participation in protests and other forms of activism and is More than double the Levels recorded during the late 1960s. In addition 6.9 percent of incoming freshmen said they planned to participate in student protests during College which was just Down slightly from 1990�?Ts High of 7.1 percent. The Survey also showed that 43.3 percent of students a an All time High a said that a influencing social values is an Quot essential or a very important goal in life. The figure was up from 39.6 percent in 199l the proportion of freshmen wanting to a influence the political Structure remained at the near record level at 20.1 percent compared with the 1990 High of 20.6 percent
