Colorado has a bad track record when it comes to arguing in favor of religious discrimination before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Government bureaucrats are setting up the state for another loss.
Colorado requires schools that participate in the universal preschool program to agree not to discriminate against homosexual students or children with homosexual parents. But religious schools don’t want to compromise their beliefs about gender and sexuality.
Two Catholic parishes and the Archdiocese of Denver refused to sign the agreement. They filed a lawsuit but lost in the appeals court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
Religious organizations have the right to conduct business according to their faith. Colorado’s requirements impinge on their rights. Liberty Counsel (LC) filed an amicus brief in the case. From LC:
The plaintiffs note that while Colorado allows secular schools to impose their own enrollment requirements and priorities, such as low-income status, disabilities, or LGBTQ status, Catholic schools are denied a religious exemption and deemed ineligible due to their religious faith.
LC argues that the state knew the “non-discrimination” requirements would exclude the plaintiffs from the preschool program. The constitutional implications are enormous.
“When a state promises a ‘universal’ program but rejects a religious organization because it won’t compromise its religious doctrine, then it has become discriminatory,” said Mat Staver, LC founder and chairman.
The government can’t stop these religious schools from participating in a public program because they are religious or force them to change what they believe to satisfy the state.
Colorado didn’t learn that lesson and lost to Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker and Christian who declined to make a custom “wedding” cake for two homosexuals.
The state lost to Lorie Smith, a web designer who did not want to provide services for homosexual “weddings.”
Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor, prevailed against the state when the Supreme Court ruled that Colorado’s ban against “conversion therapy” was unconstitutional.
