Kudos to the Baltimore County Council for approving the HOME Act, which will outlaw discrimination in housing in Baltimore County (“Baltimore County Council passes HOME Act,” Nov. 4). This act will give valuable assistance to thousands of veterans and elderly and handicapped citizens who are seeking safe and sanitary housing, and it will bring Baltimore County in line with neighboring jurisdictions like Baltimore City and Howard, Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties that have previously passed similar legislation. And brickbats to the Republican council members who opposed this measure arguing, along with the powerful landlord lobby, that the act will require landlords do business with the federal government.
Well, landlords and their developer friends don’t appear to have any difficulty doing business with the federal government when they apply for any number of available federal housing grants including subsidies for protecting historic buildings, for adhering to green construction guidelines, Small Business Administration assistance loans and grants, and subsidies for flood insurance. Apparently, it’s OK to do business with the government when it puts money in your pocket but it’s not OK for low income folks to get government assistance in order to live in safe sanitary housing in decent neighborhoods.
Jack Kinstlinger, Towson
Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.