Posted on 10/21/2010 6:33:45 PM PDT by earlJam
No 'Christian' roommate for churchgoer Complaint filed with Fair Housing Center
Updated: Thursday, 21 Oct 2010, 5:51 PM EDT Published : Thursday, 21 Oct 2010, 5:51 PM EDT
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan filed a housing discrimination charge against a Grand Rapids woman who advertised for a Christian roommate on her church bulletin board.
The 31-year-old woman's attorney, who works for the Alliance Defense Fund , said this is a blatant violation of her First Amendment right to freely associate.
But Nancy Haynes of the Fair Housing Center told 24 Hour News 8 the woman has every right to seek and live with a Christian roommate -- but advertising for it publicly, even on a church bulletin board, violates federal law.
"She can be a Christian and she can even use that as a criteria for who she wants to rent to. She just can't state that. Because to state that is a violation of the Fair Housing Act," she said. "There are certain exceptions that apply. She can actually, in practice, not rent to a non-Christian. But she can't make the statement. The statement alone is a violation of the act. What she can do in practice she can't make a statement about."
Haynes said the Fair Housing Center began investigating after someone in the congregation, who was offended, filed a complaint.
The center then filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights , and the action is administrative, not criminal. The center asks for a response to try and negotiate a settlement. If they can't, it's possible that the Michigan Department of Civil Rights would determine if a violation happened and perhaps recommend a hearing.
The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter seeking dismissal of this complaint to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, but there has not yet been a response.
"I found (the woman and her attorney's) response very offensive. We're not punishing her for being Christian at all. If you're in the business of renting, it's a business transaction that's held to a standard under federal, state and local law."
The state wants the woman to get training in federal law, and reimburse the Fair Housing Center $300 for the time it took them to investigate.
I have a real problem with this ‘anonymously reporting’ of others. It needs to be stopped.
Once we had these things called 'property rights' - not to mention religious freedom. Now they mock us as they enslave us.
This persecution of the poor by the wealthy liberal elite, who can afford to live without finding a roommate.
I tried to rent a classified ad ($25) in the local fishwrap, saying I was a Christian looking for a housemate. The ad was slapped down, I told I wasn’t allowed to say that. I was also told I had to accept whoever wanted to rent my room or I could be sued.
This was a few weeks the same fishwrap announced a homosexual counterfeit marriage in their bridal section, so I cancelled my subscription. That was the last time I ever had a newspaper subscription.
I tried to rent a classified ad ($25) in the local fishwrap, saying I was a Christian looking for a housemate. The ad was slapped down, I told I wasn’t allowed to say that. I was also told I had to accept whoever wanted to rent my room or I could be sued.
This was a few weeks the same fishwrap announced a homosexual counterfeit marriage in their bridal section, so I cancelled my subscription. That was the last time I ever had a newspaper subscription.
The bastards should be counter-sued.
LEt’s finally throw ‘separation of church and state’ back at the statists.
She advertised on a church bulletin board. State, get the hell out of the church.
Send that link to the FHA folks in MI.
In short, if you have to live with them, you can discriminate as to who you live with.
This absolutely makes my blood boil! So the woman cannot specify “Christian” in the ad, and must wade through all of the applicants, somehow trying to discern if they are Christian or not, wasting their time and hers?
Choosing who will live under your roof with you should be a basic right. Everything about this is just terribly wrong.
If this isn't ridiculous I don't know what is.
She should file suit for harrassment instead. “Training in federal law” for posting a flyer asking for a Christian roommate at her church and be fined $300 - for posting something on a church bulletin board. Words can hardly begin to describe how stupid this is - they had to conduct an “investigation” into some lady posting a piece of paper in a church on a bulletin board...are we living in insane times or what?
This woman needs to find a new church home.
If the lady advertising doesn’t want to be with you because you are not a Christian there ain’t no free association.
All relationships are conditional especially those as close as a roommate.
HOW can that be?? What happened to "free speech"??
It would be interesting to know whether this law could compel the woman to rent to a man.
They have been here for a long time. They are called sensitivity training and done in corporations all the time due to the laws made in congress..
“What I would be willing to bet megabucks on is that it was NOT a regularly attending member of that church’s congregation and that the “Fair Housing Center” will fight to the death to avoid revealing who made the complaint. Further, I would go so far as to say I bet there are a LOT of complaints submitted by that person.”
I wouldn’t go that far. I have no doubt there would be regularly attending members in my church who would turn in the poster. I just keep away and pray for them.
Will do!
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