Free speech advocates have filed a preliminary injunction against Oregon’s new law banning love letters from prospective home buyers.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Free speech advocates have filed a preliminary injunction against Oregon’s new law that bans so-called “love letters” from prospective home buyers.
Total Real Estate Group out of Bend wants a federal judge to block Oregon’s law before it goes into effect in January.
The law would stop real estate agents from passing along personal pitches to sellers. Proponents say these letters can be the only edge a first-time buyer has against deep-pocketed investors that buy up entry-level homes to flip or rent out. The concern is that such letters could violate fair housing laws by revealing a buyer’s race, religion, sexual orientation or marital status.
Related: Oregon becomes the 1st US state to ban homebuyer love letters
The Oregon lawmaker who sponsored the legislation, Democratic Rep. Mark Meek, told USA Today in August that Oregon is not impeding free speech.
“We are limiting transmission of communications that are not relevant and could potentially be breaking fair housing laws,” he said.
But Daniel Ortner, a free speech attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, said there’s no evidence of a problem.
“If you’re trying to restrict speech you’d better have a compelling reason to do so,” Ortner said. “And you have to have evidence. You have to prove that it’s necessary, that it’s serving some…
