Local News in Brief : AIDS Bias Law Advances

In a unanimous vote, the Santa Monica City Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a law banning discrimination against people with AIDS.

The ordinance, which will face a second vote in two weeks, says a person cannot be refused employment or be fired from a job because he or she has acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It also bans discrimination in renting or other real estate transactions.

“Fear and discrimination prevent too many people from coming forward . . . to adequately deal with the disease,” Councilman Alan Katz said in favoring the proposal. “This in no way condones the deliberate passing of the disease (but) allows those with the disease to continue their livelihood.”

The city attorney’s office said the law--passed on a 6-0 vote with one member absent--is broader than a similar Los Angeles ordinance because it prohibits discrimination when a person “has AIDS, a history of AIDS or is regarded as having or transmitting AIDS.”