Brickbat: Love Shack

An Oregon law has banned potential home buyers from writing "love letters" to sellers. With the housing market heating up, some buyers are hoping to beat rivals by sending the owners letters about how much they love the home and trying to make a personal connection by including information about and even photos of their family. But Oregon lawmakers fear that could lead to discrimination and have barred any communication between a buyer and seller that could reveal the "buyer's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status or familial status." "We are not impeding on their freedom of speech or written communication," said Democratic Rep. Mark Meek, sponsor of the law. "We are limiting transmission of communications that are not relevant and could potentially be breaking fair housing laws."