Ideal for couple

After Richard Jacobson of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, placed a "for rent" ad
in his local paper that listed a cottage "ideal for couple," he got into
a legal battle that lasted nearly two years, after which the courts
finally ruled in his favor. The nonprofit Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair
Housing Council, which monitors housing advertisements in Southeast
Wisconsin, filed a complaint that accused Jacobson of "a preference or
limitation based on marital status in violation of the Wisconsin Open
Housing Law." William Tisdale, a spokesman for the council, says, "An
individual deserves the same protection as does someone who is black or
gay, and we felt that 'ideal for couple' was just as discriminatory as
'ideal for white' or 'ideal for Catholic.'" Jacobson was slapped with a
$500 fine by the state Equal Rights Division, ordered to take a $50
class on writing classified ads, and ordered to reimburse the Fair
Housing Council $1,481 for legal fees.