Court rejects challenge to gay retirement subdivision

[davidinalameda]

http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=10909&sd=01/07/04

A challenge by neighbors to a subdivision catering to retirement-age gays and lesbians has been rejected by the New Mexico supreme court. The court on December 29 denied a request from Los Ruederos Neighborhood Association to hear an appeal of the decision by the San Miguel County Commission to allow the proposed Birds of a Feather Resort Community to proceed. The state court of appeals turned down a similar request by the neighborhood association in mid December. A state district court earlier upheld the county commission's approval of the 18-home subdivision.

[Coventina]

1. People are so dumb!

A gay retirement community would be a BIG PLUS to any city!!!

Hello?!?!? Who the hell do they think has been "gentrifying" the inner-urban centers of the cities of this country????

Excuse me, I need to go lie down for a little while.....

[Muddleoftheroad]

3. How can they legally do this?

Can't people then create a whole "straight" retirement community? A white community? Etc.?

[Coventina]

4. Well, I've actually questioned the legality of "retirement communities"

Living here in the Phoenix area, we have a black hole to the west of us known as "Sun City" and "Sun City West", a large wasteland of grumpy old people waiting to die. They vote down anything remotely progressive that finds itself on the ballot.
They don't allow anyone to live in their cities below the age of I think 50.
It's a curse. The idea of a "gay retirement community" sounds like a breath of fresh air, actually. I'm sure it would have to be more progressive than the deadbeats we are stuck with.

[wunnerfulrobin]

5. I agree with "muddle"

I remember several yrs back, apartment communities could no longer advertise "no kids" and had to start allowing families in. Now, near where i live, there's a "retirement community" being developed for approx 2000 homes/condos. AT least 1 in each house must be over 50. If you can be forced to allow kids, how can you not be forced to allow under 50?

[pinto]

7. good point. My guess is they were marketing to gay community and

locals got skittish, "there goes the neighborhood", as they used to say.
I don't see anything about a gay only community, though.
I'm gay and hold to the idea that vibrant neighborhoods are non-defined, organic and open.

[trent21]

8. Yes and that is the point

MOST retirement communities ARE all straight! If you're single you have no problem but if you're a same-sex couple they won't let you in because you aren't married.

There are only a handful of retirement communities in this country which cater to lesbians and gays people and as long as most do not it Gay-only retirement developments are NEEDED!

[Muddleoftheroad]

9. Two adults should be allowed to room

No matter what subdivision. But you should not allow sexual preference to mandate or prevent residence.

[trent21]

10. Fine..pass a federal law that prohibits marriage from being used

in private retirement communities when deciding who can live in them.

Otherwise stop whining about gay communities!

Until such time as there is a federal law prohibiting sexual orientation from being a factor(like there is RACE and every other minority class) in housing then your arument makes NO sense whatsoever!

[David__77]

13. Because it's not "gay-only," just like there's no "Black-only" colleges.

However, schools and communities can indeed market themselves toward a certain demographic, and they do so. I mean, it's not as if a traditionally Black college would or could deny admission on the basis of race, nor could this development deny a heterosexual person.

It is possible that a white or a straight person could test these things if he or she desired. I presume that the response would be instead market as "gay-friendly," for instance. Hopefully, in the coming period, boundless love and acceptance for fellow lesbian and gay citizens will somewhat antiquate the compelling reason for this development.

[pinto]

14. kick n/t

[xchrom]

2. i wondered where i was supposed to go

when i retired.
now i know.

[saltpoint]

6. I suggest to those people who --

-- objected to the gay and lesbian retirement community going in in New Mexico that they move to Yellow Knife, Northwest Territories. And the sooner the better. I don't think any gay and lesbian retirement communities are planned for Yellow Knife for a while. Also it would lessen the number of right-wing votes in the upcoming presidential election.

[kayell]

11. The neighbors heard the subdivision would be full of sextegenarians....

[transeo]

12. Oh how they whine when the tables are turned

It's perfectly ok to have a marriage requirement, which limits the neighborhood to str8 folk. But as soon as the LGBT community has something the str8 world can't be part of, the whining starts. Cry me a big old river.

Perhaps a little reverse discrimination is exactly what we need to show how rediculous discrimination based on sexual orientation is. As soon as a few fundie str8 people are fired from their jobs for their sexuality or denied a home because of it there will be legal changes to protect people from discrimination. It seems lost on many str8 people that they too would be protected under such laws. Flame away, I am sick and tired of this B.S. and I think it's time to give these conservative a**holes taste of their own medicine.