After four churches decided to sue the state of Massachusettes for trying to force them to open their bathrooms to transgendered persons, officials have decided to clarify the law which will now only apply to them in very limited cases. The Daily Caller is reporting on the victory achieved by the churches after the state enacted an anti-discrimination law in July that demands that public places – including houses of worship – allow people to use the rest rooms that correspond to their gender identity rather than their biological gender.
As a result, a group of churches filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court alleging that the law would force them to let transgenders use the bathroom of their choice while inside their buildings. The suit also alleges that the new law would stop pastors from making statements about sexuality that don’t agree with the government’s stance.
Even though churches appeared to be exempt from the law while performing religious functions, the guidance provided by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) explained that a church would only be subject to the law if it holds a secular event such as a spaghetti supper that is open to the general public. However, the churches insist that even outreach efforts such as spaghetti suppers are religious in nature.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) a public interest legal firm dedicated to preserving religious freedom, filed suit in October, alleging that the state’s anti-discrimination law for transgenders would infringe on the churches’ religious freedoms.
In response, the attorney general’s office agreed to remove “house of worship” from the list of public places subject to the law. The only time a church will be subject to the law is when it hosts a “public, secular function”.
As MassLive reports, the chief of civil rights in the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey contacted the ADF and assured them that defining a church as a place of public accommodation is inconsistent with current law.
“MCAD removed the sentence in its guidelines that referred to a church being a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event like a spaghetti supper. It replaced that by writing that the law applies to a religious organization if it engages in or its facilities are used for a public, secular function. The law does not apply to an organization in any way that would abridge its First Amendment rights, as defined by the Donaldson case,” MassLive reports.
Attorneys for the state also reassured the ADF that views expressed in sermons, worship services or Sunday school classes are already exempt from the public accommodations law due to the First Amendment religious freedom rights.
The churches and their pastors who were plaintiffs include: Horizon Christian Fellowship in Fitchburg, Abundant Life Church in Swansea, House of Destiny Ministries in Southbridge and Faith Christian Fellowship in Haverhill.
As a result of the state’s response, the churches have withdrawn their lawsuit, but remain willing to challenge any future attempt by the state to violate their constitutional rights.
“We accomplished what we set out to do, to ensure pastors and churches across the state of Massachusetts were free to teach their religious beliefs and operate their houses of worship in a way consistent with those beliefs,” said Christiana Holcomb, legal counsel with the ADF.
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