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.
The Fair Housing Act needs to be repealed. It is a very stupid law.
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.
FHA is just one more unConstitutional law. And I’d like to find a roomate for any judge who imagines otherwise.
Yup look what I found. Hundreds of requests for Muslim roommates!
http://www.muslimtradingpost.com/index.php?watan=ALL&cat=35
To explain, for years the federal government has had the strictest standards imaginable for housing *advertisements*. There is a huge list of words that are prohibited for use in such advertisements.
Advertisements *must* be open to everyone. Official exclusions you can print are remarkably few. And they police such advertisements ferociously, everywhere they appear. Even putting advertisements where they will likely not be seen by everyone can get you in trouble.
But even they agree that if someone who rents or sells a home or apartment is “discreet”, they can get away with not renting or selling to someone they don’t want to. They just need a plausible excuse that’s not on the list.
Some prohibited words and phrases include: “integrated neighborhood”, “exclusive”, “married couples only”, “not handicapped accessible”, any mention of race, religion, some limitations to gender, national origin, or membership in private organizations that can legally discriminate or proximity to such an organization like a country club.
Interestingly, you can now include things like “Give your family a Christmas present”.
You have to be very careful in stating that a property has been rented or sold, when it hasn’t, as proof could be demanded immediately.
“Blockbusting” and “steering” by real estate agents is forbidden. The former is trying to stimulate a sale by implying that undesirable persons are moving into the neighborhood, and the latter is to encourage people to move into a neighborhood “with their own kind.”
There are a bunch of exclusions to these rules, but you need to do some serious study to learn what you can and cannot do when renting or selling, and advertising such.
Great catch!
I know that the libs like to throw around the term, but doesn’t this smack of Gestapo tactics? Prowling churches for “violations?”
No...some busybody got their knickers in a twist and bitched about it, more than likely.
I think it is screamingly funny.
You can do it, you just can’t say it.
Monty Python couldn’t write a more absurd skit.
FAIR HOUSING ADVERTISING WORD AND PHRASE LIST
Revised 05/01/09
http://www.mvfairhousing.com/pdfs/ad-word-list.pdf
not acceptable
adult living
adult park
adults only
English only
golden-agers only
mature complex
mature couple
Newlyweds
# of children
Parish
play area, no
caution
Exclusive
Executive
Mormon Temple
Muslim
# of persons
# of sleeping areas
perfect for . . . (should not describe people)
pets, no
Prestigious
She was within her rights to post within a church and specify her preference. I bet the 'government' wouldn't get involved if a homosexual advertised for a roomie in a bath house- and specifically stated no Christians.
The Fair Housing Center is going to get slapped down here if they don’t roll over first. It’s great there are groups like the ADF out there who will take on this type work pro bono. If not this woman would probably be out of luck. My guess is the Fair Housing Center backs down on this before it goes to trial.
Well, they need to be reported! Like that would happen.
Someone in that congregation has a big problem.
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How silly. I wonder if it would be illegal to advertise for a female or male roommate?
This country is going to shit.
What an easy way to make $300.
If agency didn't like the ad, all they would have had to do is to send out a post card stating that she could not use those words.
Plus, your tax money is being handed out in the form of grants to encourage the "Fair Housing" regulations.
Sounds like Barry Linn
And then there's http://www.muslimroommates.org/grand-rapids, which yields "Everything to do with Medieval Crusades items" as the top ad on the page.
And check out this place.
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