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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Solon who wrote (80740)	6/22/2004 6:29:27 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Discrimination by private individuals is certainly not unconstitutional, whatever else it might be. At least if you are talking about the United States. The very laws against such discrimination are in many cases unconstitutional but even if they where not the constitution itself does not demand them, it doesn't even hint at any such requirement for individuals. Such discrimination is obnoxious but it isn't doing anything against someone else. Laws against it are not laws against abuse but rather laws demanding the performance of an action for someone else. If "Bob" sees "Mary" on the side of the road bleeding to death, and Mary is no danger to Bob, and there is no compelling reason for Bob not to help Mary, then it is obnoxious if he walks on by and lets her die. But it isn't abuse of her unless he caused her to be in such a state. The obnoxiousness of not hiring or renting or selling to someone just because of their race or religion ect. is less then that of letting someone bleed to death, but shutting down someone's business, or fining them, or sending them to prison because they didn't help "Mary" or even report her plight, would probably be, and should properly be, highly controversial. Tim