NEWS CONFERENCE 241

Q. Governor, how is your educational program on fair housing legis-
lation coming?

A. I met last week with the State Interracial Commission to discuss
the steps that we want to take to make certain that every citizen under-
stands the thrust of the fair housing law that was recently enacted by
the General Assembly. And I might state parenthetically that after
reading some of the statements of fair housing activists, I think our
educational efforts should be directed in their direction, in their sector,
as well as in the sector of those who oppose the law. I'm very inter-
ested in seeing that what the law does is brought to the attention of
the people. If it does go to referendum, they should know what's in
it. I don't think the Interracial Commission should take an advocacy
position with public funds, but I do think that they have an obliga-
tion to educate the people about what's in the act.

Q. Governor, yesterday, Judge Maguire forecast as an eventuality a
law that would make parents criminally responsible for the actions of
improperly supervised juveniles. What would be your reaction to
such a law?

A. This is a very difficult subject. What do you mean by improper
supervision? It's almost impossible to calibrate in any fashion that can
be administered and understood by a court, what is effectual or in-
effectual supervision. It may change with the environment of the child.
It may change with the ability of the parent to supervise the child.
It may change with the social position of the parties. I think it's a
wonderful attitude to think about trying to control, to overcome, the
old legal concept that parents are not responsible for the torts of
their children. But I think that it's got an awful lot of difficult sides
to it. There's no use creating a law that's unenforceable, and I just
don't see how you could ever define the criteria rigidly enough to
make it an effective law.

Q. Would you make the same comment on the Prince George's
County suggestion that parents be held responsible for preventing
their children from loitering during certain hours?

A. Well, now this doesn't quite apply to that. That's a much less
broad approach to a problem. Here you are defining exactly what
the evil, if you want to call it that, is that you're trying to prevent.
You're trying to keep these children from loitering or from congregat-
ing in certain places at certain times. I think you could write standards
around that kind of law. But a broad law related totally to the con-