Fair Housing Act

On Oct. 4, an editorial appeared purporting to examine the issue of presidential leadership on civil rights under the following subheading: "Massive problems remain in unemployment, education and housing that rhetoric alone cannot hope to address." Unfortunately, the editorial, which called for stronger civil rights enforcement, focused on the rhetoric of this election season and gave scant attention to the actual record of the Bush Administration on civil rights enforcement. As assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, I can offer some hard facts on the department's positive civil rights enforcement record.

Question: I am a manager for a company that provides property management for several rental communities. We have a limited pet policy in all our properties. Residents can have pets only if we approve the specific animal. We have this policy so that animals unsuited for an apartment community, because they are too large or too noisy, can be excluded. A resident in one of our properties gave us a note from his doctor stating that he needed a service animal to help with his disability.

Civil rights leader Benjamin L. Hooks, a lawyer, minister and pioneering judge who revived a flagging NAACP after he became its executive director in the late 1970s, has died. He was 85. Hooks died Thursday at his Memphis home after a long illness, said Tennessee state Rep. Ulysses Jones, a member of the church where Hooks was pastor. When Hooks took over leadership of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People in 1977, it was $1 million in debt and had shrunk to 200,000 members from nearly half a million in the 1950s and 1960s.

This High Desert community sounds downright hospitable and inviting. The entrance signs proclaim, "A Better Way of Life." For years it was the getaway haunt for Hollywood celebrities. The main drag is called "Happy Trails Highway;" Roy Rogers and Dale Evans live here. But not everyone is welcome here, the federal government contends. The U.S. Justice Department has sued the city for refusing to allow a small apartment complex to serve as a group home for mentally disabled adults.

Racial and ethnic discrimination in housing has been a concern since Congress adopted the federal Fair Housing Act 20 years ago. The law, which gave the government a "conciliation role" in housing discrimination disputes, was made tougher this year--protection now includes the handicapped and families with children. Housing discrimination remains widespread. It can be blatant, as when a building manager sees a minority applicant or mixed-race couple and refuses to show the apartment.

Each night before retiring, Robson Dufau hangs his "alarm system"--three bottles looped together with string--above the front door of the house on a quiet residential street in Westchester. He has instructed his 5-year-old stepson to play only in the back yard. And Dufau's wife, Tori, looks under the hood of her car before turning the ignition key. The Dufaus are under siege, an attack that began in October, shortly after they moved into the house on a lease with option to buy.

QUESTION: One of my tenants has a long-term visitor(five weeks) who he says is his sister. She certainly doesn't look like his sister to me, but the exact nature of their relationship is, of course, none of my business. The rental agreement clearly states our guest policy, and the tenant has unquestionably violated it. How can I remove this unwanted guest?

After drugs fell short in helping their patient cope with emotional and mental problems, the three doctors prescribed another therapy for the woman. They suggested she get a dog. So the 52-year-old woman brought Lady, a poodle, into her Anaheim apartment building, which had a ban on dogs. When the landlord complained about Lady, the woman reluctantly took her to a kennel. And then, the woman carved the dog's name into her arm and attempted suicide. While at the kennel, the ailing Lady died.

The county Fair Housing Council was awarded a $125,000 federal grant to expand its enforcement program relating to predatory mortgage lending practices. The money is part of $14.2 million given to groups in 73 cities to help fight housing discrimination. The council will expand its existing program to focus on Fair Housing Act violations.