What Happened After This Family Put Statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on Their Lawn Could Spark a Legal Battle
A Florida family is locked in an intense battle with a homeowners association over the demand that religious statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary be removed from their lawn.
Enock and Ines Berluche claim that the Shingle Creek Reserve at the Oaks Homeowners Association, Inc. threatened legal action if the family refused to remove the 2-foot statues, which were recently rejected by the governing body for not being “harmonious with the surrounding properties.”
In a letter sent to the family by Martell & Ozim, P.A., a law firm retained by the association, Enock and Ines Berluche were told that they are in violation of the community’s “covenants and restrictions.” The demand was made clear: “Remove your unapproved statues from the front of your home.”
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In a press release addressing the matter, Liberty Counsel cited a different property that has “thirteen potential violations of the homeowners association rules on yard ornaments” to note the purported irony in the opposition to the two religious statues on display by the Berluche family.
“Why all of these ornaments are approved but Mr. and Mrs. Berluche’s statues were denied is clearly a matter of viewpoint discrimination,” Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver said in a statement.
