ACLJ Wins Lawsuit Against Virginia Real Estate Board for Targeting "Jesus Loves You" and John 3:16 – Court Strikes Down Unconstitutional Law

We previously told you that the ACLJ filed a lawsuit on behalf of our client, Hadassah Carter. Hadassah is a Christian realtor who has been being harassed, targeted, and discriminated against by the Virginia Real Estate Board for including Bible verses on her website and phrases like “Jesus Loves You” or John 3:16 in her email signatures.

The Virginia Real Estate Board, a state agency, filed a complaint against Hadassah, accusing her of violating Virginia’s fair housing statutes. To be clear, the Board did not charge her for a refusal to rent to or to represent any person. The complaint absurdly stated that because she used religious speech, she could make someone feel discriminated against.

The absurdity of the complaint did not bother the Board. There were no actual complaints against Hadassah for any discrimination. She had a diverse clientele of Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Kenyans, and Vietnamese. Not a single allegation of religious discrimination or any discrimination was made against her.

The Board’s inability to tell that ads like “House for rent to women only” or “One bedroom apartment for men only” instead of “House for Rent. Perfect for Large Family” or “One bedroom apartment. Perfect for Singles” shows discriminatory intent is a form of discrimination in itself.

The Virginia Real Estate Board dropped its initial complaint against Hadassah; but at the same time, it forced her then-employer to enter into an agreement to monitor her and report back on her religious expression. The agreement actually required her employer to “agree as part of the enforcement of this policy they shall review a random sample of the professional websites, email signatures, and real estate advertisements of agents through December 31, 2023. This sampling shall always include agent Hadassah Carter if her license Is under the Principal Broker for [the company].” That is targeted and unconstitutional discrimination against a Christian realtor for exercising her religious free expression.

After this, we filed a lawsuit to protect our client’s free speech rights. The words at issue were, to quote from her email:

For Faith and Freedom,

Jesus Loves You, and

with God all things are possible…

She also said:

My goal is to open the doors to the home of my client’s dreams, and to establish Relationships that will last a lifetime. It is people who are important to me. . . .

God comes first and equal to Him, my Clients come first. I am dedicated to making the dreams of families come true across the State of Virginia, and those relocating around the World. I am dedicated with true devotion to serving GOD and helping people. My commitment is to every client as well as to my fellow REALTORS, in providing the highest standards of excellence, integrity, loyalty and professionalism. I operate on the principles of the “Golden Rule”, in providing the most professional Real Estate services available. I am thankful for the trust that my clients put in me. My highest compliment is when a client refers their family and friends to me for the same service that I have given to them!

PERSONAL STATEMENT

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

I am available to you when you need me.

In March 2023, we made a motion for summary judgment, which means that we asked the court to declare that the Virginia Fair Housing Act’s (VFHA) presumption that “words or symbols” associated with a particular religion are proof of intent to discriminate and unconstitutional. In fact, the VFHA argued that a state statute required them to enforce this anti-Christian presumption, so we asked the court to strike down that unconstitutional portion of the law.

Yesterday, the Richmond Circuit Court of the Commonwealth of Virginia did just that. It stated:

Having considered the historical context for the Commonwealth’s Fair Housing Law, the court now turns to Carter’s overbreadth challenge. The statutory presumption makes unlawful any expression of individual identity that references religion, national origin, sex, or race, without any evaluation of the substantive message conveyed in the expression. The ban on expression is total. Thus, under the VFHL, a reference to the biblical verse: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear,” Ephesians 6:5, would be presumed to carry an unlawful discriminatory purpose, but so also would reference to a verse such as, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31. All biblical references alike are presumed to convey the same invidious discriminatory animus. Even though the latter reference carries a message entirely consistent with the statute’s purpose of eliminating disparate treatment, it is considered just as unlawful as the former, on the sole basis that it contains “words associated with a particular religion.”

The court continues later:

The Commonwealth’s response to the numerous instances whereby the presumption of animus could be triggered is that the suspected realtor could overcome the presumption by presenting their own evidence of contrary intent. (Transcript of Hearing at 64-65 (Dec. 21, 2023)). This proposed solution to the statute’s overbreadth misses the point. It is axiomatic that where the state alleges misconduct by its citizens, it is the state that bears the burden of proof. See Sutherland v. Commonwealth, 171 Va. 485, 494 (1938). The presumption in the VFHL relieves the Commonwealth of its burden and automatically penalizes the use of any and all words orsymbols, even if they are entirely benign, because they carry the stigma of merely being “associated” with a particular religion, national origin, sex, or race.

It concludes:

The court finds the portion of Va. Code Ann. § 36-96.3(A)(3) presuming unlawful animus due to the mere use of words or symbols associated with a particular religion, national origin, sex, or race to be an unconstitutional abridgement of the rights to speech and expression established by the First Amendment.

With this victory, not only is our client free to include “Jesus loves you” and John 3:16 in her materials, but it is a massive win for every Christian realtor in the state. Expressions of faith are no longer banned in the real estate profession in Virginia.

Unfortunately, we are seeing increasing discrimination against Christians in public life. This is a big step in reversing this trend, but we continue to battle many other cases to defeat this kind of anti-Christian discrimination nationwide.