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Now isn't this a delicate one? Paging all lawyers ...
Hi Curbed...I have a strange situation at my apartment and was hoping someone out there might be able to help. I live in a rental building in the Castro. Big surprise, I'm gay. Open and out, except to my parents who live in the deep south. Here's the deal...my landlord has decided my building needs a mural -- a "gay pride legacy" mural, including rainbow flags, bears holding hands, yellow brick road etc. All the standards. I don't identify with much of that stuff, and I find it kind of insulting to have those images attached to me...fine if others like those things, I don't. And I feel like it's embarrassing to have it all over the front of my building. Do I have any rights as a renter to have this mural removed from the front of my building? Does a right to privacy protect those who live in a building from having their lifestyle broadcast? As an example, would it be OK for a landlord to paint a Star of David on a building populated by Jews? If someone's looking to do some gay bashing in the neighborhood, I feel like this mural exposes the residents to it. Is this sort of thing OK? I understand a building owner can make aesthetic changes to a building, but can they make changes that also convey a sociopolitical message that the residents may not want to be affiliated with?
Any thoughts? Am I screwed?
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