College Of The Ozarks Sues Biden Over Executive Order That Opens Dorms, Showers To Opposite Sex
College of the Ozarks is suing the president for his anti-discrimination executive order that would force the school to stop following its religious principles in favor of leftist gender politics.
Religious liberty legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is now suing the Western District of Missouri on behalf of the College of the Ozarks, saying that Joe Biden’s anti-discrimination act “requires private religious colleges to place biological males into female dormitories and assign them as females’ roommates.”
As is normal practice anywhere in the world, the college has dormitories and separated “intimate spaces,” such as showers and bathrooms, for biological males and females and does not wish to change that practice. The college believes that biological sex is not changeable and operates its facilities in accordance with that.
The president’s executive order is seeking to ban institutions from continuing that practice, the lawsuit claims, adding that the order is in violation of the school’s First Amendment-protected rights to tell students about its religious-informed residence hall policies.
“Occupancy and access in the college’s residence halls are separated by biological sex, not identity, and that residence in student housing depends on compliance with the student code of conduct, including the commitment to avoid all sexual relations outside of a marriage between one man and one woman,” the lawsuit states.
On his first day as president, Biden signed the “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation” ordering that “all persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Those who choose to go against the order are set to be fined heavily, and according to ADF, the fines could reach six figures.
The college of the Ozarks, being a private Christian school, is now seeking temporary relief from the Missouri court, citing its plans for the upcoming fall semester to separate new students by biological sex.
The College of the Ozarks lawsuit in federal court against the Biden administration challenges a directive from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which forces religious schools to violate their beliefs. https://t.co/G2SnFaW3eD
— KNEO Radio (@kneo917) April 16, 2021
Dr. Jerry Davis, president of the college, said that religious freedom is “under attack” from the new administration.
“Religious freedom is under attack in America, and we won’t stand on the sidelines and watch,” he said. “To threaten religious freedom is to threaten America itself. College of the Ozarks will not allow politicians to erode the essential American right or the ideals that shaped America’s founding.”
"The Biden Administration has declared war on religious liberty. The College of the Ozarks has filed a lawsuit against the overreach of President Biden. Many Christians don’t realize how close we are coming to losing our freedom….. and religious liberty." Terry Delano
— Joan Fowler (@JoanFow37890825) April 18, 2021
According to ADF Senior Counsel, Julie Marie Blake, the government has no right to force religious schools to change their views on biological sex and gender identity.
“The government cannot and should not force schools to open girls’ dorms to males based on its politically motivated and inappropriate redefinition of ‘sex,’” she told the press. “Women shouldn’t be forced to share private spaces — including showers and dorm rooms — with males, and religious schools shouldn’t be punished simply because of their beliefs about marriage and biological sex. Government overreach by the Biden administration continues to victimize women, girls, and people of faith by gutting their legal protections, and it must be stopped.”
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