Roommate service lands in court

California judges are morons. Discriminating against who you share living space with should be absolutely legal. I know gay guys who would prefer living with other gay guys - this ruling hurts them too.

Heck, maybe asking gender should be illegal too, right? Isn't it discriminatory for a woman to only want to live with other women?

Frankly, this is ludicrous. You should have some discretion as to the person you want to live with. That seems as basic as it comes. If you're not comfortable with gay males, for whatever reason, you shouldn't be forced to include them in your roommate search. Sorry, I know that isn't PC, but I can live with that.

But this is academic anyway. In practice the person will just choose the person they want over the person they don't want, and if someone starts hollering they'll just make up some other reason. "It's not because he was gay, it was because this other person made more money." etc.

"But that's discrimination! It's illegal!" My answer: *YAWN*...find another apartment.

If you don't like the service, don't use it. Oh right, we live in "sue everyone, all the time" America now. I forgot, how silly of me.

" A gay male who registered on the site, for example, would not receive notices of new apartment opportunities from roommates who indicated a preference for straight males and straight females or lesbians, "

Why is this a problem? If I am going to share my living space with someone (a very intimate deal) I am going to be extremely discriminatory as is my right. Why should I not be able to filter out a person that does not fit my lifestyle?

Again, our personal freedoms and rights are under attack. BTW, for what it's worth, I wouldn't filter gays from my roommate search criteria. But, I understand why others would.

To discriminate is a good thing. Too often we see it as a bad thing and in this case the judge is insane to think that forcing people to consider someone they would prefer not to LIVE with is anything but a violation of privacy. The right of the person who doesn't fit in (so to speak) is to ignore the fact that it would not make for a good living arrangement and defies all common sense.

Pretty soon we'll have arranged marriages because an overweight midget with a speech impediment feels discriminated against when a tall, beautiful spokesmodel won't give him the time of day. After all, by this application of moral principle, the model has no say in what is best for her because fairness is what life is all about. And, given this ruling, I don't this is as far fetched as it reads.

When will it end! To discriminate on the grounds of merit, qualification, intelligence, etc. are valid reasons so as not to cause harm as a matter of course. Choosing a roommate is a VERY personal decision. Having the ability to discriminate using a tool such as this website is paramount to pursuing a happy life or lifestyle through compatability.

Society should fight back for the freedom to discriminate when making personal decisions. The internet is both good and bad in many ways. We all know that. Alas, we have the fear-police at it again to use it as an excuse to further invade privacy. To govern all of our actions, wants, etc. via this virtual sidewalk is like having big brother involved in every conversation, every nightclub, social event while dictating to whom you can associate yourself. Government has NO rights to our lives - we see CAMERAs everywhere just looking for ways to 'catch' people.

This is a very slippery slope! Doesn't this freighten anyone? Unbelievable!

Freedom isn't easy - it takes responsible citizenry and sensible leadership. We've given up so much and have opened the doors to socialism and czarism. Unlike those who founded what was once our great nation, there is no place else to run.

Typical liberal BS. These type of people need to get a life. People want to know this type of information before living with somebody. This PC-liberal BS is out of control

Might not seem PC, but a person has every right to be selective about who they share living space with. Yes, it is illegal to discriminate if you are renting out an unoccupied apartment - but when you have to share living space with someone, you should have every right to decide who you want to live with. In my younger days when I lived with roommates, I can't tell you how many times I showed up to a place that had been advertised and knew within 30 seconds that there was no way I could live with those folks. And that's OK. A ultra-conservative, ultra-religious right-winger wouldn't have much fun living with me, and I would hate living in an apartment with a bunch of undergrads.

How did this get into court in the first place? Roommates are exempted from the Fair Housing Act (as well as owner-occupied two-family home owners) for all the good reasons others have mentioned.

What I wonder is, who is actually playing the role of the victim here? If you're a gay male (or lesbian or Black or white or Purple or whatever), and someone has stated that they do not want to live with gay males, thus they're not going to appear as a match, would you, the gay male, be sad about this? Is there really some person out there who is upset that they are being denied the opportunity to live with someone who doesn't want to live with them? "Aww shucks, I was really hoping to be able to live with a racist," says the Black person?

Granted, it needn't be that drastic. It could just be a female who feels most comfortable living with other females. Regardless - who is complaining about a streamlined process that saves people time and aggravation?

You can't discriminate via religion either. Christians can't prefer to live with Christians, Muslims with Muslims, or atheists with atheists. Why should a Christian not be able to choose other Christians as roommates?

Okay this might be a minor point, but why can't the author, or the Boston Globe for that matter write "sexual orientation" rather than "sexual preference"?? It's such a nuisance to read.

Don't people generally list preferences in roommate ads? Why should roommates.com be singled out? Most roommate ads ask for different qualities, women only, professionals only, vegetarian only, whatever. People have a right to choose with whom they live! Is it discriminatory if I say I want a roommate that's quite and responsible?

I think this kind of protects people from discrimination. It would be much easier on a person not to have a listing sent to them than to go through the hassle of contacting them only to hear, "I'm sorry, I don't like people like you."

I'm about as liberal as they come with at least two gay people in my family and gay friends.... and I say this is ridiculous.

You can reject anyone as a roommate for any reason - too messy, too noisy, clashing taste in music, not a morning person.

Come on!

Do I like that some people would discriminate? No. But it's their right. Like it's my right to choose to live with someone who doesn't blare death metal at 3am.

As others said, where does it stop - can women now not be allowed to say they only want female roommates?

Please don't call this liberal BS. It's just plain BS.

I am a gay man in his late 30's and I would not like to have many different kinds of roommates, including other gays! I think that this takes the cake and goes beyond being a liberal. I do not condone discrimination in any way, shape or form, but for someone to tell you who you have to accept to live with because you might hurt someones feeling is just wrong. Roommates are just that and finding a good one is hard enough, to now have the courts come in an tell you who can and who can't have. Next they will tell us who we can sleep with and who we can't! Oh wait! They already do! Oh well!

renter, the law basically says they (landlord in a owner-occupied 2-family, or the person searching for a roommate) can discriminate when they chose tenant, but can't discriminate when they advertise, that's where roomates.com went foul with the law. Of course, since this is a federal law, there is no protection based on sexual orientation, so filtering by sexual orientation should be legal. But this was in CA, so I'm sure there's some state statute that prevents that.

renter, the law basically says they (landlord in a owner-occupied 2-family, or the person searching for a roommate) can discriminate when they chose tenant, but can't discriminate when they advertise,

It wouldn't surprise me if this idiocy results in ruling that this portion of the Fair Housing Act violates First Amendment protections. And perhaps it should. If the discrimination itself is legal, how can you prevent people from speaking about it?

I own a Born-again Christian home which I have shared with other male room-renters, and been told by my local newspaper that I can no longer advertise a "born-again Christian home". Also, I can no longer advertise "quiet place", nor can I say "non-smoker/drinker", or "male only". I can only say "room for rent, the price, and phone number. Now, I have to deal with a lot of angry people when they call and find out that I cannot take a woman, as a Christian man has to "avoid all appearance of evil", according to the Word. I cannot have a smoker, as I am deathly allergic to smoke and don't want my house full of that dirty smell and blackened curtains. I do not want any drunks staggering in and out of my beautiful, clean private home, waking everyone up at night, and throwing-up on the carpet. All the clean-living nice guys would move out. I am not allowed to adverise that it is a quiet home, as we don't want to discrimate against someone who may want to yell and scream whenever they want to. I suppose that I also am obligated to take someone who is on drugs, as we don't want to leave them out, either. If they decide to deal their drugs from my home, I guess I would have to allow that, also. And, of course, I cannot adverise that I want to share my home with another Christian person, as we all know that is no longer politically correct. Our wonderful left-wing politicians and the ACLU are working for a God-free America. Our country was founded on Christian principles and the Word of God. They are taking "one nation under God" out of the pledge of allegiance, and I am sure they are working to get "in God we Trust'" off of our money. We can no longer display the ten commandments on government property. Thank God for the cities and towns that still have the courage to put up a nativity scene for Christmas - wonder how much longer they will get away with that. I hate to be a pessimist of gloom and doom, but I think America is in BIG trouble in the days ahead. I guess I am better off not to share my home at all, and tell the good guys that they cannot live in a nice, quiet, Christian, smoke-free home, with a very low weekly rental rate, as we don't want to discriminate or offend anyone.

I see right-wing commenters are once again working for a fact-free America.

Please, stick to the topic. We're not interested in who you want offa your lawn.

As far as I can see, everybody on this thread, of every political persuasion, agrees you should be able to advertise for a Christian, nonsmoking, tee-totaling roommate in your own home. Or a pagan, cigar-chomping drunk, if that's what you wish.

Roommates.com doesn't ask it's users to disclose race. Please check your facts before posting false information.