Religion-based lawsuit challenges Iowa’s gender identity interpretation

DES MOINES — An Iowa church has enlisted the help of a legal alliance in challenging a state Civil Rights Commission position on gender identity protections that they regard as an unprecedented government intrusion into religious freedom.

Attorneys with the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) said Tuesday they have filed a pre-emptive federal lawsuit on behalf of the Fort Des Moines Church of Christ challenging the Iowa commission's interpretation of a law they contend could 'censor a church's teaching on biblical sexuality' and force it to open its restrooms and showers to members of the opposite sex.

'Churches should be free to live and work according to their religious convictions, to teach their religious beliefs and to operate their facilities in a way that is consistent with those beliefs, and Fort Des Moines Church of Christ discovered that an unelected Iowa commission has basically said that no longer is the case,' said Christiana Holcomb, an ADF attorney for the non-profit legal organization with a stated mission of advocating for the right of people to freely live out their faith.

Extra: Read the ADF complaint (PDF)

'Based on our research, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission's action in this situation is absolutely unprecedented in American history,' Holcomb added during an interview Tuesday.

However, Gov. Terry Branstad's office issued a statement after the lawsuit was made public indicating that no cases dealing with Iowa churches have even been brought to the state's civil rights commission.

'Gov. Branstad believes every Iowan should be treated with respect and dignity,' Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes said in a statement.

'The Iowa Civil Rights Commission has taken no action to change current law,' Hammes added. 'The governor has confidence in the commission to enforce the laws we currently have that protect religious institutions right to exercise a religious exemption while protecting personal rights.'

Holcomb said the alliance brought the 'pre-enforcement challenge' lawsuit Monday seeking injunctive and declaratory relief under the U.S. Constitution at the Iowa church's request to stop the potential for government interference with the exercise of its religious beliefs and practices.

ADF attorneys representing the Des Moines congregation argued in the lawsuit that all events held at a church on its property have a bona fide religious purpose and the commission has no authority to violate the First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of religion and speech.

The legal complaint brought by ADF attorneys alleges that the Iowa commission is interpreting a 2007 state law to ban churches from expressing their views on human sexuality if they would 'directly or indirectly' make 'persons of any particular … gender identity' feel 'unwelcome' in conjunction with church services, events, and other religious activities.

The lawsuit contends the alleged speech ban could be used to gag churches from making any public comments — including from the pulpit — that could be viewed as unwelcome to persons who do not identify with their biological sex. 'This is because the commission says the law applies to churches during any activity that the commission deems to not have a 'bona fide religious purpose,' according to an ADF new releases, which cited examples the commission gave such as 'a child care facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public,' which encompasses most events that churches hold.

'Churches should be free to teach their religious beliefs and operate their houses of worship according to their faith without being threatened by the government. That is a foundational First Amendment principle,' Holcomb noted.

'Churches have always been protected from government intrusion, and they still are,' she added. 'They have a firmly established freedom to teach their beliefs and set internal policies that reflect their biblical teachings about marriage and human sexuality. One can hardly imagine a more obvious unconstitutional invasion of the state into the internal affairs of the church.'

According to the alliance, the Iowa commission bases its conclusions on its interpretation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which also includes a facility use mandate that requires anyone subject to the law to open sensitive areas like locker rooms, showers, and restrooms to persons based on their 'gender identity' rather than their biological sex.

At issue is wording in a commission publication providing guidance for a 2007 law that expanded Iowa's civil rights act to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the classifications protected from discrimination. A question-and-answer section in the commission publication asks if the law applies to churches and answers by saying: 'Sometimes. Iowa law provides that these protections do not apply to religious institutions with respect to any religion-based qualifications when such qualifications are related to a bona fide religious purpose. Where qualifications are not related to a bona fide religious purpose, churches are still subject to the law's provisions (e.g. a child care facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public).'

Donna Red Wing, executive director of One Iowa — the state's leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organization — issued a statement Tuesday defending the state commission's position.

'Do we understand what is happening? They are suing the Iowa Civil Rights Commission for doing its job,' she said. 'These protections have been with us since the 2007 amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act added gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes. It is important that we continue to work towards creating an inclusive environment for all Iowans.

'As a church, they can believe whatever they want,' Red Wing added. 'In their bona fide religious activities they are exempt. They cannot, however, break the law when providing public accommodations.'

l Comments: (515) 243-7220; rod.boshart@thegazette.com