Iowa churches are required to base bathroom use upon gender identity, not biological sex, and could be barred from making statements that make a transgender person feel unwelcome, unless services are closed to the public, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has stated.
The Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against members of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission in order to stop censorship of sermons on sexuality and marriage ethics. ADF Senior Counsel and Director for Center for Christian Ministries Erik Stanley told the Christian Post that the the government "is acting unconstitutionally in attempting to apply the Civil Rights Act against churches."
Advocating on behalf of Fort Des Moines Church of Christ, the ADF complaint argues that the church should not be mandated to communicate messages it objects to nor should it be forced to open their restrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities to members the opposite sex. In an email statement to CP, Stanley continued that the Iowa "exemption for religious institutions is unconstitutionally vague."
"The Civil Rights Commission, an unelected body, has the power to decide what falls within the exemption and what does not. And by putting out the brochure, the Commission has obviously interpreted that the exemption does not apply to 'church services open to the public.' The Commission interprets the Civil Rights Act to apply to distinctly religious things a church does. That's unconstitutional," Stanley said.
The ICRC's online brochure states that due to the expansion of the Iowa Civil Rights Act, it is illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This means businesses must allow bathroom use to be based upon gender identity, not biological sex.