ACLU Statement on Bay View Association Agreement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DETROIT – The Board of Bay View, a summer resort community near Petoskey, reached an agreement with the Department of Justice and residents who had sued to challenge Bay View’s policy of allowing only practicing Christians to own homes. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) acted as a consultant in the case and filed a friend-of-the-court brief to support the residents, after Salvatore Prescott & Porter sued on their behalf in 2017. The agreement, which awaits approval of the federal court, requires Bay View to adopt a bylaw prohibiting all religious discrimination.
Michael J. Steinberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, served as a consultant for this case and had this reaction:
“We are pleased that Bay View has finally entered the 21st Century and agreed to allow members of all faiths to own homes. Hopefully, discriminatory housing policies like these will remain in the dustbin of history where they belong. Congratulations to those residents of Bay View who fought to end religious bigotry in their community.”
Read Salvatore Prescott & Porter’s press release: https://spplawyers.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Press-Release-Bay-View-07.09.19.pdf
Read case background:
https://www.aclumich.org/en/cases/only-christians-may-own-homes-northern-michigan-community
