Hahn Urges Repeal of Ruling on Tenants

City Atty. James Hahn and civil rights groups announced Monday that they will ask a federal appeals court in San Francisco to reverse a recent decision that may allow landlords to discriminate against gays, unmarried couples, and people with AIDS.

A sharply divided three-judge panel ruled in an Alaska case this month that a landlord can refuse to rent to an unmarried couple if it violates strongly held religious views.

Hahn said the city will file an amicus brief later this week asking for a rehearing of the case or a review by the full 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“This ruling . . . would allow discrimination against unmarried couples, gay men, lesbians, people with AIDS, HIV and other disabilities,” Hahn said. “It opens the door to other forms of discrimination, which theoretically could be justified on religious grounds.”

Hahn warned that the decision threatens to undo state law and city ordinances that outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and bias against people with AIDS.

“We have fought too hard for civil rights protections . . . to allow this decision to stand,” he said.

Abbie Liebman of the California Women’s Law Center said the decision allows landlords to use religious beliefs to pry into the private lives of prospective tenants and deny them housing.

But the Jan. 14 ruling was applauded as “a victory for people of religious conscience” by an attorney for conservative Christian groups.

The ruling was made in a case filed against the state and the city by two Anchorage landlords. Unless it is overturned, the decision will apply in nine Western states, including California.