Before Memorial Day, the California state legislature is expected to vote on two bills restricting religious liberty. One, AB 1888, would cut off public grants to all colleges and universities without policies specifically protecting gay, lesbian and transgender students from any form discrimination. The other, SB 1146, would require that colleges and universities exempted from Title IX because of religious affiliation publicize their exempt status to current and prospective students, also making those schools vulnerable to legal action under Title IX.
The breadth of SB 1146’s potential legal implications is vague, but the intentions behind it are clear—and controversial. Supporters, according to Religious Liberty, claim they intend to protect “provide a legal remedy for students, for instance, who are admitted to a religious institution before revealing that they are LGBT and are later denied readmission or housing or face harassment.” But opponents to the bill fear its consequences. The California Catholic Conference testified in April about SB 1146— “‘while the state can protect against invidious discrimination, it must do so in a way that does not simultaneously abridge rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.’… CCC argues that this bill ‘raises serious concerns over potential violations of the Equal Protection Clause and provisions of the Due Process’ by creating a civil cause of action for discrimination on the grounds of gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, ‘even where that conduct is compliant with federal law.'”
