Colorado’s Christian Summer Camp won a big victory after appealing to the state’s gender policy, which worried about closing the door.
As previously reported by CBN News, Camp Idrahaje in Bailey, Colorado, last month asked the court to allow them to follow separate campers with sexually religious beliefs, not sexual, rather than gender identity.
The conservative law firm Alliance Defending Freedom issued a statement this week, saying the camp has “reached a favorable settlement with state officials that allow the camp to run without compromising religious and common sense beliefs about biological sex.”
Colorado agrees not to enforce gender laws on camps, noting that “churches, synagogues, mosques, or other places used primarily for religious purposes” are exempt from compliance.
Listen to the latest episodes of “Quick Start”
The issue at the heart of the legal struggle centers around state regulations governing gender, and camps no longer operate on newly adopted parameters for the Christian faith. Licensed in Colorado since 1995 and derived from the song “Jesus rather, rather have it,” the camp dates back to 1948 and welcomes thousands of children each summer.
As previously reported, the May 12 lawsuit filed on behalf of Camp Idrahadje by the ADF detailed camp concerns after the early childhood Department of Colorado last year created new regulations requiring licenses like camps.
The camp previously said it had tried to receive a religious exemption but was not granted, according to the Denver Post. According to the ADF, the denied denials stated, “The camp was forced to choose to support its beliefs about the risk of losing its biological gender and its license, or the risk of abandoning its belief and mission to serve the child.
But now the problem is being fixed.
ADF lawyer Andrea Dill said in a statement that the government has no right to threaten to shut down or punish Christian camps solely to exercise “religious beliefs about human sexuality.”
“Government officials should not place any ideology that is more dangerous than children,” ADF lawyer Andrea Dill said in a statement. “State officials must respect their beliefs about the Ministry of Religion and human sexuality. They cannot force Christian summer camps to violate that belief.”
She continued. “We are delighted that Camp Idrahaje is free to run for over 75 years, as a Christian summer camp that accepts all campers without fear of being punished for their beliefs.”
After a settlement was reached, ADF’s attorneys filed a voluntary notice of dismissal in the case.
As the number of voices facing big technology censorship continues to grow, sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN news app developed by the parent company to keep you up to date with the latest news from a clear Christian perspective.
