Suit Challenges Christian-Only Ownership Rules In Chautauqua Cottage Community

A discrimination lawsuit was filed in a Michigan federal district court last week against the Bay View Association, a Lake Michigan summer community with roots in the Chautauqua Movement. The complaint (full text) in Bay View Chautauqua Inclusiveness Movement v. Bay View Association of the United Methodist Church, (WD MI, filed 7/10/2017), challenges provisions in the Association's rules that limit cottage ownership to practicing Christians.  The suit contends that this is religious discrimination that violates the U.S. and Michigan constitutions, the federal Fair Housing Act, and Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.  Petoskey (MI) News-Review reports on the lawsuit.