“Fair" Housing Center Files Charges Against Christian

[Jennifer Groves]

“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. “

“ . . . Nancy Haynes of the Fair Housing Center told 24 Hour News 8 . . . [that] advertising for it publicly, even on a church bulletin board, violates federal law.”

According to Haynes: “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."

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/michigan/No-Christian-roommate-for-churchgoer

Hmmm . . . so no freedom of speech? or religion—for Christians, anyway.

Haynes, who apparently has no real work to do, finds it “very offensive” that the woman and her attorney have asked the MI Dept of Civil Rights to dismiss the charge. The FHCWM is demanding that the woman “get training in federal law” by taking an FHCWM class (can we say “rip off”?!) and paying FHCWM $300 for their time in investigating.

FHCWM received $620,000 in 2009—44% of that from a three-year HUD grant, 22% from Community Development Block Grants, and 8% from a grant provided by the Kent Co. Senior Millage. No word on where the other 26% came from.

http://www.fhcwm.org/Annual%20Report%202009.pdf

“These grants are used to fund education, enforcement and advocacy services; compliance monitoring; and administrative services.”

According to FHCWM, they have 5 employees (in one paragraph, they list 6 employees, but only 5 under the “Staff” heading).

http://www.fhcwm.org/

FHCWM does not disclose how those funds are distributed, but with only 5 employees, that is an average of $124,000 per employee per year. Another example of public “servants” not serving, but bilking the taxpayer. FHCWM (and HUD) are nothing but con artist scams.

FHCWM bills itself as “the sole provider of crucial services to the West Michigan area.” Really?! “Crucial”?!! I think not. Arrogant, yes; crucial, no.. Now, it is “poised to assume an even greater and more visible role” and “to be a “leading, visible force” in promoting “diverse, open communities”.

We need to de-fund FHCWM and HUD. ACORN’s cousin—and we don’t need them. Period.

I hope the woman who is being victimized by FHCWM sues them for her First Amendment rights. Yes, we ARE paying WAY too many taxes if we are funding organizations like this.

Sadly, the complaint against the woman was submitted to FHC by a fellow church member.

To contact Nancy Haynes and the Fair Housing Center:

FHCWM

20 Hall Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
Tel: [phone], Toll Free: 1-866-389-FAIR
Fax: [phone] email: [e-mail]

To contact the MDCR and tell them to drop the charges:

Kelvin W. Scott, Director of MDCR

Daniel H. Krichbaum, Exec Director of Civil Rights Commission

Lansing Executive Office
Capitol Tower Building
110 W. Michigan Ave., Ste. 800
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
TTY: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

[Jennifer Groves]

I agree the laws are ridiculous--however in this case it seems FHCWM does not have a law to stand on. The woman was trying to rent a room in her home, not an apartment. Either way, it's still ridiculous.

She's being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund.

"Civil rights" is one of those nebulous phrases that SHOULD include everyone but since it was created in the sixties, has only applied in black vs. white circumstances. Not sure if race is a card that can be played here or not.

[Diane Konneck]

This is one of those stories that just leaves you shaking your head. Where did any smidgen of common sense go? I would say the law itself is seriously flawed, attempting to trump one's Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Association rights. I hope some really good Civil Rights attorney steps up to help her!