
By guest writer, author Patrice Johnson
In a move to protect free speech and stop the federal government from conscripting landlords to serve as its mouthpieces, the Thomas More Society filed suit in federal court on March 16.

The complaint seeks to stop East Lansing from compelling an East Lansing landlord to provide information about voter registration and voter application forms to new tenants. The lawsuit seeks permanent injunctive relief, barring the city from enforcing any provision of the city code at issue.
“This is a blatant violation of landlords’ First Amendment rights,” stated Thomas More Society Special Counsel Erick Kaardal. “East Lansing is out of line. By its city code, East Lansing may impose penalties for a civil infraction upon landlords if they do not convey the cities’ ideological messages about registering to vote to tenants.”
A skeptical reader might suspect the ordinance, specific to East Lansing, was intended to infuse bias into voter registrations. Students of Michigan State University, based in East Lansing, comprise a significant majority of the city’s tenant population and vote predominantly for Democrat candidates.
Landlords collect rent, keep buildings up to code, make repairs, and manage properties. Voter registration has nothing to do with their businesses.
“By compelling a landlord to inform and provide information to tenants regarding where to register to vote, or by engaging them to act as couriers of the municipality’s ideological messages to prospective tenants, East Lansing is infringing on landlords’ rights,” explained Kaardal. “Registering to vote is irrelevant to a tenant’s decision to enter into a lease agreement with a landlord. The First Amendment protects an individual’s right to refrain from speaking just as much as it protects the right to speak freely. Where East Lansing’s interest is to disseminate an ideology or policy related to voting, no matter how acceptable to some, those interests cannot outweigh the First Amendment right to avoid being the courier of the government’s message.”…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (100percentfedup.com)
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