New American | Alex Newman | Sept. 15, 2019
Under the guise of combating “discrimination,” a rogue government body in Virginia is brazenly persecuting and discriminating against a Christian real-estate agent. Her supposed crime: using the phrase “Jesus loves you” in her e-mail signature and featuring the John 3:16 Bible verse on her website. Seriously. But now, a prominent Christian legal organization is coming to her aid, warning that anti-Christian discrimination cannot be tolerated in America.
Until recently, Virginia Realtor Hadassah Carter has never been accused by anyone of “discrimination.” Her clients include Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Kenyans, and more. And no client has ever suggested anything wrong. But because she is Christian and publicly shares her faith, authorities at the Virginia Real Estate Board put a target on her back. If the government is successful, Carter will either forfeit her God-given rights to free speech and religious liberty, or lose her livelihood.
Even more terrifying than the individual persecution of Carter, perhaps, are the broader implications of the case for religious liberty and free speech in Virginia and beyond. If state authorities are successful in silencing or destroying Carter, it could mean that everyone who holds a government license to engage in commerce — from plumbers and barbers to hairstylists and attorneys — could lose their God-given rights to speak, too.