By the end of this month, Paul Morris will be homeless.

He volunteers for the City of Kirkland as a communications specialist and for King County’s Public Health Reserve Corps as an emergency medical technician.

“I am dying to get into paramedic school so that I can provide means for my family to not ever have to visit a Section 8 voucher again in their lifetime,” Morris said during a public hearing on Tuesday, before the Kirkland City Council voted to approve a Section 8 ordinance that prohibits landlords from refusing to rent a unit based on a tenant’s use of a Section 8 voucher. “I plead with you to at least level the playing field for those like myself who love living here in Kirkland.”

During the public hearing, 35 people addressed the council.

For the 26 people who spoke in favor of the measure, the most common thread was the ordinance would prohibit discrimination.

Several spoke poignantly about firsthand experiences as Section 8 tenants.

A single mom, Katherine Porter moved to Kirkland to support her sister, whose infant passed away unexpectedly. She attempted to rent apartments near her sister’s home but two landlords refused her application when she told them she had a Section 8 voucher. Another landlord referred her to a property that did accept the voucher, however that apartment was less desirable, she said.

“The landlords refusal to rent to me based on my financial status made me feel that I was shamed for my income,” said Porter. “I know the labels that they put on tenants with housing subsidies. They’re poor, they damage the property and they make too much noise. I’m employed as a teacher with the Mukilteo School district and Everett School districts. As an educator, I strive to teach and model celebrating and accepting diversity in our school and in our community.”

Kirkland resident Suzanne Grogan, who has two master’s degrees and taught at the college level, said a medical condition “devastated” her life and finances.

“So I have qualified for a Section 8 voucher. I’ve had doors slammed in my face because they refused to even consider taking someone of a limited income,” said Grogan. “The content of a person’s character, not their rental income, should be the criteria of whether or not they can rent an apartment.”

When landlords have found out that longtime Kirkland resident June Banahan has a housing subsidy, she said most have treated her with “silence, resentment and hostility.”

While employment has remained inconsistent with her due to her medical issues, she said she is an ideal tenant. She said she doesn’t have a criminal record, she has a spotless rental history and she’s even passed Secret Service background checks to have lunch with the First Lady.

“The consistent story that I hear is that people won’t get their money back if a Section 8 resident destroys their property,” said Banahan. “Someone’s status or lack of status, money or lack of money does not determine someone’s integrity or worthiness.”

However, Sean Martin said the Section 8 measure was not a discrimination issue.

“People do not choose to deny someone housing because of their Section 8 voucher,” said Martin. “They choose to not rent to a Section 8 [tenant] because the program itself and the fact that it simply doesn’t work for all business models for rental property owners.”

Susan Musi, who also opposed the measure, agreed.

“To make landlords operate private business on their private property by this sort of thing doesn’t make any sense,” said Musi, who owns a small property rental. “These are private businesses and really what you are doing is you’re essentially saying well there is such a thing as economic inequality.”

She added that she recently moved to Kirkland because she can afford it.

“Yes, I would love to live in Medina … but I have to be able to afford it,” said Musi. “But we simply don’t have that standard. It would be essentially like going into Nordstrom and saying, excuse me, I can’t afford to buy here, but I want you to sell to me anyway. We just can’t afford to do it. It’s a different business model and it’s very difficult to do so I would ask that you not impose that on a private business.”

Kirkland homeowner Carol Schroeder, who owns a single-family home rental and another property being remodeled, told the council she would like the voluntary Section 8 program to remain voluntary.

Her primary objection to the measure is that while the Section 8 program subsidizes rent, the program does not cover damages that could exceed the deposit and Section 8 tenants themselves “have no resources to back that up.”

Schroeder, among others, asked the council to consider an exemption for landlords who own a few rental properties.

Following the public hearing, the council in a four-to-three vote approved the measure.

Mayor Joan McBride, Deputy Mayor Doreen Marchione and Council members Dave Asher and Amy Walen voted yes, while Council members Toby Nixon, Bob Sternoff and Penny Sweet voted against the measure.

The ordinance requires landlords to apply the same standards and practices to all potential renters. The measure also incorporates enforcement for those who violate the ordinance, which will be handled through the city’s code enforcement process.

In Kirkland, there are about 400 Section 8 vouchers being used, according to the King County Housing Authority.