Massachusetts reverses ruling that churches must accommodate transexuals
December 14, 2016
State officials in Massachusetts have reversed an earlier ruling that churches are not exempt from a new policy requiring all public institutions to accommodate ‘transgender’ individuals.
Earlier this year the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) had ruled that churches are “places of public accommodation,” and therefore subject to the policy, if they hold events that are open to the public. But after that ruling was challenged in a lawsuit by four Protestant congregations, the state’s attorney general issued a ruling that the law “does not apply to a religious organization if subjecting the organization to the law would violate the organization’s First Amendment rights.”
The churches that had challenged the law dropped their lawsuit in response to the new ruling. Christiana Holcomb of the Alliance Defense Fund, which had represented the churches, said: “We will continue to monitor the situation in Massachusetts to make sure those freedoms continue to be respected.”
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Further information:
- Churches withdraw lawsuit against Massachusetts transgender anti-discrimination law (MassLive)
- Breaking News: MA Churches Can Serve the Community Without Government Punishment (ADF)
- Massachusetts churches challenge new state policy requiring transgender accommodations (CWN, 10/11)
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