Dixon artwork. Photo: Liberty Counsel
Atlanta, GA – Hallmark Management Company has settled with Daniel and Sharon Dixon, after firing and evicting them from a property management position for having a piece of artwork hanging in their office that contained a Scripture reference. Liberty Counsel successfully represented the Dixons in the case of Dixon v. Hallmark Companies and will be awarded $76,250.
Hallmark Management Company has no relation to the greeting card company.
Daniel and Sharon Dixon were the employees and tenants of a government-subsidized facility, Thornwood Terrace Apartments, in Lake City, Florida. In 2007, a regional manager for Hallmark asked Sharon if the words on the artwork referred to Scripture. When she said they did, the manager demanded she take it down and then fired the Dixons. The manager told them they were “too religious.” The Dixons were given 72 hours to vacate their apartment home. The Dixons filed a federal lawsuit, charging Hallmark with religious discrimination.
The first and foremost right protected in our Constitution is that of religious expression and liberty. It is great that the Hallmark Management Company recognized this and is compensating the Dixons for violating their rights. It is completely unacceptable for a company, especially one that is subsidized by the federal government, to discriminate on the basis of religious beliefs. When employers mistakenly think they can discriminate against religious expression, it can prove to be a costly mistake.
Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, commented: “I am pleased that Daniel and Sharon Dixon can move forward, with this religious discrimination action behind them. It is wrong to fire or evict someone because they are Christians.”
Via Liberty Counsel.
I’m glad they received some financial compensation, at least, but in the meantime, they’ve had to uproot their lives because someone was offended by Scripture. How did we come to a point where this sort of overreactive behavior by an employer or a state would even be possible?
We got to this point by voting in politicians who truly hate Christians. It has created a poisonous atmosphere for believers. If you think that who you vote for doesnt impact our freedoms, read this story again and think!
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. EVIL WALKS THE EARTH IN MANY DIFFERENT FORMS. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF JUST ONE. I’M GLAD THEY HAD THE COURAGE TO FIGHT AN UNJUST, UN-CHRISTIAN ACT.
‘Christians’ and ‘Citizens’ are becoming enemies of the State in these United States, these days, it seems. It is sad what our Nation is coming to. Whatever happened to freedom, I wonder? Maybe, we need to start fighting for it … again. The punitive damages in this case seems trivial.