Christian woman allowed to seek female Christian roommate…for now
HUD dismisses complaint following ADF letter defending Mich. woman’s right to post ad on her church bulletin board
Thursday, Nov 4, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Just one week after Alliance Defense Fund attorneys sent a letter on behalf of a single woman urging the Michigan Department of Civil Rights to throw out a groundless complaint against her for seeking a Christian roommate through a post on her church bulletin board, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a dismissal. The complaint alleged that the woman’s posting was illegal because of its “discriminatory” nature.
“Christians shouldn’t live in fear of being punished or penalized by the government for being Christians. This attempt to criminalize the legal and constitutionally protected activity of a single Christian woman privately seeking a Christian roommate at church is nothing short of absurd,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. “HUD did the right thing through its dismissal of the frivolous complaint. Anti-religious groups wanting to confine Christians and their beliefs within the four walls of their church or home cannot also invade those very walls by forcing their own ideas upon Christians through threats of severe punishment.”
The civil rights complaint filed against the woman by the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, a private group, attacked her for posting, on her church’s bulletin board, a card that began with the following sentence: “I am looking for a Christian roommate….” The claimant alleged that the statement expressed an illegal preference for a Christian roommate because it excluded people of other faiths.
“Christians shouldn’t live in fear of being punished or penalized by the government for being Christians. This attempt to criminalize the legal and constitutionally protected activity of a single Christian woman privately seeking a Christian roommate at church is nothing short of absurd,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. “HUD did the right thing through its dismissal of the frivolous complaint. Anti-religious groups wanting to confine Christians and their beliefs within the four walls of their church or home cannot also invade those very walls by forcing their own ideas upon Christians through threats of severe punishment.”
The civil rights complaint filed against the woman by the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, a private group, attacked her for posting, on her church’s bulletin board, a card that began with the following sentence: “I am looking for a Christian roommate….” The claimant alleged that the statement expressed an illegal preference for a Christian roommate because it excluded people of other faiths.
The ADF letter sent on Oct. 21 to the MDCR explained that because the woman is not a landlord and does not own a management company or run an apartment complex--and is merely a single person looking for a roommate to share her house--federal and state law do not prohibit her from seeking a Christian roommate. ADF attorneys pointed out that the government’s interference was a blatant violation of her First Amendment rights to freedom of association.
After an investigation of the matter, HUD sent a letter formally dismissing the complaint, stating that there was no reasonable cause for the allegation and that no discriminatory housing practice had occurred. However, even though the complaint was dismissed, the problematic “anti-discrimination” housing law is still in effect, which states that a person cannot seek out renters based on gender or religion. ADF is considering filing a lawsuit to strike down this problematic law as it was applied in this case.
Through this ordeal, the Fair Housing Center for Western Michigan, which issued the complaint, has come under close scrutiny. A contract between the city of Grand Rapids and the FHCWM states that the center will be paid for submitting a specific number of complaints reporting “discrimination.” According to Oster, “There is real concern when a special interest group like this center has a financial incentive from the city to file various complaints. This complaint should have never been brought. It is borderline frivolous to suggest that a single lady can be fined by the government simply for seeking a Christian female roommate to share her 900-square-foot house.”
After an investigation of the matter, HUD sent a letter formally dismissing the complaint, stating that there was no reasonable cause for the allegation and that no discriminatory housing practice had occurred. However, even though the complaint was dismissed, the problematic “anti-discrimination” housing law is still in effect, which states that a person cannot seek out renters based on gender or religion. ADF is considering filing a lawsuit to strike down this problematic law as it was applied in this case.
Through this ordeal, the Fair Housing Center for Western Michigan, which issued the complaint, has come under close scrutiny. A contract between the city of Grand Rapids and the FHCWM states that the center will be paid for submitting a specific number of complaints reporting “discrimination.” According to Oster, “There is real concern when a special interest group like this center has a financial incentive from the city to file various complaints. This complaint should have never been brought. It is borderline frivolous to suggest that a single lady can be fined by the government simply for seeking a Christian female roommate to share her 900-square-foot house.”
- Pronunciation guide: Oster (OH’-stir)
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.