(LibertySociety.com) – On Tuesday, June 8, President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice promised to “vigorously” defend religious schools’ right to practice their beliefs freely. There was immediate blowback. Now, the administration has amended its court filing.
The filings were related to the case of Hunter v. The US Department of Education. In this case, LGBT groups are trying to prevent religious schools from using federal grants to operate if they follow Christian beliefs on sexuality. The court filing from the Biden administration on Tuesday promised to protect those educational institutions. When it made the news, Religious Exemption Accountability Project Director Paul Carlos Southwick told the Washington Post that the government was “aligning itself with anti-LGBT hate.”
The criticism caused the administration to change course and amend the filing to say the DOJ would give the schools an “adequate” defense.
Justice Dept. revises language that said it would "vigorously" defend religious colleges and universities accused of discriminating against LGBTQ students in updated court filing in a class-action lawsuit, after criticism from LGBTQ advocates. https://t.co/xop1BloDj3
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 10, 2021
The amended court filing raises concerns for religious liberty. If the administration isn’t going to give the schools a vigorous defense, it could result in the loss of First Amendment rights for Christians. That’s one of the concerns millions of Americans had before the election. Now, it seems their worst fears are coming to fruition.
Copyright 2021, LibertySociety.com
