Discrimination

In a complaint claiming widespread racial discrimination and sexual harassment at the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, more than a dozen employees have filed a class action lawsuit seeking damages in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.The employees -- including secretaires, program analysts and an administrative officer -- say supervisors harassed even high school students working in a vocational program at the lab, located near College Park in Prince George's County.The lawsuit claims the employees dealt with sexual innuendo, touching and grabbing on a daily basis.

The article by Zainab Choudry and Saqib Ali on Israel's supposed discrimination against Arab-American and Muslim citizens is missing a big part of the story in the Arab and Muslim world ("Don't let Israel discriminate," April 30). Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had to personally intervene to allow Jewish reporters on his plane to enter Saudi Arabia, since Jews weren't allowed. Christians in Arab lands are harassed and persecuted on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Muslim women are considered property upon marriage, and the Arab Spring in Egypt has replaced one dictator with another.

About 1,000 Baltimore-area residents are expected to receive thousands of dollars each under a landmark $175 million settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Wells Fargo over accusations of discriminatory lending practices. Under the terms of the deal announced Thursday, Wells Fargo also will provide $7.5 million to the city of Baltimore, which federal officials credited with first raising issues of discrimination related to bank's subprime mortgages. The city alleged Wells Fargo steered minorities into subprime loans, gave them less favorable rates than white borrowers and foreclosed on hundreds of Baltimore homes, creating blight and higher public safety costs.

As we recently celebrated the 45th anniversary of the federal Fair Housing Act, it is significant to note that the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metropolitan regions are among the most segregated in America. Last month, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law recently reported on a study showing that Maryland's public school system is among the most segregated in the nation. The report, conducted by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, revealed that more than half of the state's black students attended schools with minority enrollments between 90 percent and 100 percent during the 2010-2011 school year, up from 33 percent in 1989.

The brutal beating of Chrissy Lee Polis at the Rosedale McDonald's rightly calls attention to the systemic stigmatization of transgender individuals living in Maryland ("Transgender Advocates See McDonald's Beating as a Turning Point" April 30). Yet the devastating health effects of this discrimination go well beyond physical attacks. The estimated prevalence of HIV infection among male to female transgender Americans is between 14.7 percent and 27.7 percent, vastly higher than the general U.S. population.

For 102 years, people have been treated unequally by the Boy Scouts, and on Jan. 28, the organization's board delayed a vote on whether to allow local chapters to decide whether to admit gay members and leaders. In Maryland where gay couples are now legally allowed to get married, they still may not be allowed to join Scouting. This ultimately provides an adverse consequence to a newly-earned freedom. No one should not be declined from the Boy Scouts because of sexual orientation.

In a directive worthy of the oxymoron "slavery is freedom," from George Orwell's novel "Animal Farm," the Roman Catholic Church in effect has said that "discrimination is religious liberty" ("Bishops assail same-sex marriage," Nov. 10). In their directive, local bishops warn that if same-sex marriage is legalized in Maryland, Catholic businesses may actually have to supply food or flowers to people who are homosexuals. Imagine! This directive is a transparent (and desperate)

As a civil right activist, I have spent my life fighting to make ours a more just and fair society. That's why I urge the Maryland General Assembly to support marriage equality and pass the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. I firmly believe that this is a matter of civil rights, equal protection and equality. Civil rights are positive legal prerogatives — the right to equal treatment before the law. These are rights shared by everyone; there is no one in the United States who does not — or should not — share in enjoying these rights.

A local group that advocates for black firefighters wants the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate what it describes as "systemic discrimination in hiring, discipline and recruitment" in the Baltimore Fire Department. The Vulcan Blazers wrote a letter Tuesday to Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin outlining the allegations and requesting that his office ask for a Justice Department probe. "I want them to look at all areas of the Fire Department and find out the reason why African-Americans are not being treated fairly," said Henry C. Burris, president of the Vulcan Blazers.

A Canadian developer whose bid to build a slots casino in Baltimore has been dismissed by the city filed a federal lawsuit against a state gambling commission Tuesday, contending that the newest bidding process discriminates against companies owned by white men. Michael Moldenhauer's Baltimore City Entertainment Group says that the Maryland Video Lottery Facility Location Commission's request for proposals notes that one factor in its selection process...

Commentators Zainab Choudry and Saqib Ali complain that Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin co-sponsored legislation to extend a visa waiver program to Israel ("Don't let Israel discriminate," April 30). The waiver program currently allows citizens of 37 European and other countries - including Japan, Australia and South Korea - to travel in the United States for up to 90 days without a visa. The writers claim the legislation would let Israel dispense with a "reciprocity" provision so it could "discriminate against Americans based on their ethnicity or religion" - particularly against Arab Americans and Muslim Americans.

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would allow a foreign country, Israel, to discriminate against select groups of American citizens - including Americans who have expressed criticism of its policies. Disappointingly, the bill, S.B. 462 (also known as the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013), is co-sponsored by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin. Those who stand to be most affected by this piece of legislation are Arab Americans and Muslim Americans. However, it may also apply to individuals who wish to visit or work in Israel and/or the Palestinian territories that Israel has occupied since 1967.

For many Marylanders, Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed fiscal year 2014 budget includes plenty to celebrate. The governor's "balanced approach" to budgeting translates into increased employment, health care benefits for additional families and continued investment in programs that directly support primary education. The governor's budget also includes encouraging signs that Maryland's recovery from the Great Recession is gathering steam. But despite those successes, the budget fails to fully invest in some of our state's brightest minds.

I believe it was an English preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon (and not Mark Twain, to whom the saying is often attributed), who once said, "A lie travels 'round the world, while truth is putting on her boots. " Blaine Taylor states that I have failed to invite to speak in my classes "anyone of whom [Mr. Taylor is] aware from the other major political party in the Free State... " and that if I won't "invite the current representative or governor representing Towson's congressional district and the state then [I]

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Toys "R" Us, alleging the company broke the law when staff at its Columbia store refused to provide a sign-language interpreter for a job applicant who is deaf. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, says the retailer discriminated against the woman, Shakirra Thomas, after she applied for a position at the store in 2011. It alleges the company violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to provide "reasonable accommodations" for job applicants and workers with disabilities.

It would be troubling - though perhaps fitting - if Alabama, the state that gave us the Voting Rights Act in 1965 because of its opposition to providing African-American citizens the ability to register and vote, became the state that would end a key part of the act. It could happen, but it shouldn't - and won't if the Supreme Court recognizes the significance of ensuring that history does not repeat itself. Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, a challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The act has two primary provisions: Section 2 is permanent and prohibits race discrimination in voting; Section 5, a temporary provision, requires periodic congressional reauthorization.

Community meetings don't usually attract the disinterested or curious. The average person has a busy enough schedule, so such events tend to be packed with vocal opponents of whatever is being proposed. At least that's the kindest explanation available to excuse the recent outbreak of community-based hysteria involving Sheppard Pratt Medical Systems' proposal to turn a Ruxton mansion in an upscale rehabilitation facility to help those under treatment for mental illness make a transition back to living at home.

It's time for someone to say it aloud. As a member of the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights for more than a decade and its chairman for much of that time, I'm willing to take the risk of being misunderstood. African-Americans are no longer the principal targets of discrimination. Notice I said "discrimination," not prejudice. In the universe of laws to enforce equal opportunity, discrimination is easy to allege but difficult to prove. And prejudice doesn't exactly matter. Corporate America and a good many small organizations have learned how to fire employees without violating anti-discrimination statutes.

I am the Realtor that was the agent for the seller of the land that was sold to the Chin Baptist Church. Shortly after this became public knowledge I was approached by a neighbor. He told me this had to be stopped because if you let one Korean into the neighborhood than other Koreans will want to move into the neighborhood. By the way they are not Koreans. Later my son came home and told me that an adult had told him that I was the person who let the gooks into the neighborhood. I don't know if this person was serious or not. The first public hearing was on an Ash Wednesday.

For 102 years, people have been treated unequally by the Boy Scouts, and on Jan. 28, the organization's board delayed a vote on whether to allow local chapters to decide whether to admit gay members and leaders. In Maryland where gay couples are now legally allowed to get married, they still may not be allowed to join Scouting. This ultimately provides an adverse consequence to a newly-earned freedom. No one should not be declined from the Boy Scouts because of sexual orientation.