The management of a senior adult apartment complex in Washington State should expect a lump of coal in its stocking after they rebuked a woman for writing “Merry Christmas” in the complex’s newsletter.
The woman never imagined offending anyone when she concluded a newsletter with “Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa!” It seemed to me that she was covering all of her holiday bases (although Kwanzaa is not really a holiday).
But Cirrus Management, the company that runs the Riverside Landing Apartments, thought her message was anything but friendly.
The American Center for Law and Justice says the elderly woman was told her message was “too religious to hand out.”
“Our client, Marie, prints a helpful newsletter at her senior apartment complex. Marie never imagined she was offending anyone,” the ACLJ said in a statement. “You read that right: A resident of a housing community in the United States is being prohibited from expressing Merry Christmas.”
And that happens to be a violation of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Fair Housing Act. The government cannot impose restrictions on a resident’s religious liberty.
“Marie’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion are being violated by management in other ways,” ACLJ alleges. “They are telling her that advertising her Bible study and informing residents about visiting pastors are unacceptable while simultaneously allowing secular and irreligious events to advertise freely.”
The apartment complex ordered Marie to no longer distribute newsletters if the words “Christian” or “Christmas” were mentioned.
“Essentially, management told her that the newsletter couldn’t reflect reality and must be stripped of its very identity,” the ACLJ said. “She’s been told that even a spirit of inclusivity by incorporating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa isn’t enough: There must be no mention of religion at all.”
The ACLJ sent a demand letter calling on Riverside Landing to reverse these discriminatory policies immediately.
“Our client – and every resident – has the right to exercise their faith and to speak freely, whether that means hosting a Bible study, publishing a newsletter, or simply saying, ‘Merry Christmas.’ If they don’t agree to comply with the law, we will be forced to take further legal action to defend Marie’s rights this Christmas,” ACLJ said.
To the ACLJ I say, Merry Christmas. As for the management at Riverside Landing, I say, “Bah Humbug!”
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