Christian Colleges in California are facing closure and other penalties if they do not bow to pressure to accommodate transgenders, homosexuals and other practices prohibited in the Bible.
Two bills are have been introduced into the California legislature aim to force California Christian colleges to embrace LGBTQ anti-discrimination laws. The sinister effect of the two bills, which were authored by openly gay legislators, is to cripple California’s Christian colleges by forcing them to implement gay-friendly protections on campus or lose state and federal financial aid for students.
Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a law firm said, “The punitive laws would undermine federal protections that have long exempted religious colleges from adopting anti-discrimination laws that violate the tenets of their faith.” The bills do not consider how the rights of the colleges themselves would be violated.
“…If these bills are successful,” the law firm continued, “Christian colleges, for instance, would have to allow a male student who perceives his gender as being ‘female’ to live in the women’s dorm to avoid the risk of a lawsuit or the loss of financial aid options for students. Similar consequences could also become a reality if a Christian university dismisses a professor or staff member after discovering they were living with a same-sex partner.”
The bill, AB-1888, if approved, would disqualify Christian colleges from receiving state-funded student financial aid if the institutions deny students on the basis of their “sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.” What’s more, the bill would disallow colleges from obtaining waivers from the U.S. Department of Education on the issue. A companion Bill, SB 1146, would mandate Christian schools tell prospective students their institutions are discriminatory.
The full implications of the bills remain unclear and open to controversy. It could mean that biological males who choose to identify as females may end up rooming with biological females. Any school that refuses to comply would then be accused of discriminating, resulting in loss of their Cal Grant funding.
“It looks like the Department of Education got a new boss: the Human Rights Campaign…” said Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. “Although it’s none of the HRC’s business, the organization has made a point of sticking its nose in the First Amendment debate blazing through college campuses. Like most pockets of society, the clash between religious freedom and sexuality has landed on the doorstep of higher education, which is especially problematic for schools with a conservative worldview.”
“The bottom line is this,” continued Perkins. “No one should have to get a waiver to exercise their First Amendment rights! The fact that the government is even using these intimidation tactics is cause for congressional action.”
Accepting federal and state money places schools in difficulty because in doing so, they must comply with state and federal laws in order to continue receiving the funds. Now that schools are dependent on state aid for their survival, the new laws and regulations are an existential threat. It would have been far better to resist the temptation to accept government funds. If California passes these laws, other states will no doubt follow suit, placing all Christian Colleges and Universities in jeopardy throughout the United States.
“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot…” Luke 17:28