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The U.S. Justice Department in December filed a brief to back a lawsuit by Christian groups against the University of Iowa. The university, as a condition of student groups being recognized, requires them to affirm that they do not discriminate on many measures, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Business Leaders In Christ was denied recognition because of policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The group requires its leaders to affirm that sex is permitted only “between a man and a wife in the lifelong covenant of marriage” and that “every person should embrace, not reject, their God-given sex.”
The Justice Department brief argues that Iowa's policies violate the First Amendment rights of religious students. But Iowa maintains that its policy is consistent with a 2010 Supreme Court decision that allows public universities to enforce antidiscrimination policies, even when religious groups claim that doing so goes against their beliefs. To have such policies, public colleges and universities must show that they apply the policies equally -- and not enforce them just against groups holding certain religious or political views.
