Iowa Senate passes bill that would allow college campus groups to exclude LGBTQ members
Bill is a response to a lawsuit filed against the University of Iowa by a Christian student group
The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that would allow student organizations at public institutions of higher learning to continue to access school funds and facilities even if they deny access or admission to LGBTQ students and others due to their purported religious beliefs.
The bill is a direct response to a lawsuit filed against the University of Iowa by a Christian business group. Business Leaders in Christ sued the university in December after university administrators revoked the group’s official student organization status. As a result, it cannot participate in on-campus recruitment fairs, use campus facilities, or receive university funding.
The university claims it revoked the group’s status following an investigation into an incident in which the group refused to allow one of their members to seek the vice presidency because he was openly gay.
Business Leaders in Christ claims it did not discriminate based on the student’s sexual orientation, but requires leaders to “agree with and strive to abide by” the group’s religious beliefs, which prohibit sexual activity outside of a marriage between one man and one woman.
In its suit, Business Leaders in Christ says the student in question is still allowed to participate as a member, but told the previous president that he intended to pursue same-sex relationships. As a result, the group did not feel he was in a position to provide a moral example for the rest of the group.
But the university claims that by refusing to allow the gay member to run for vice president, the group violated university policy and Iowa’s Human Rights Act, both of which prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel, the executive director of One Iowa Action, denounced the Senate bill and its potential ramifications, noting that bill would not just allow discrimination against LGBTQ people, but others based on their gender, race, religious belief, or even disability status, even as the group continues to receive university funding and special privileges reserved for official campus groups.
Hoffman-Zinnel also noted that the bill has been amended to disguise protected class discrimination as discrimination based on a person’s actions. For example, a student group at a public university banned head coverings in their code of conduct, it would be allowed to discriminate specifically against religious groups who wear head coverings as part of their practice.
“Freedom of speech is a necessity and bedrock principle of higher education,” Hoffman-Zinnel said in a statement. “However, this bill goes farther than ensuring freedom of speech on college campuses. It gives campus groups the ability to discriminate against others because of who they are while accessing public funds and publicly subsidized venues.
“No student should be excluded from participating in groups or activities they’ve already paid for because of who they are, and this bill is an attempt to allow just that,” he added. “This isn’t fair to students paying activities fees, or taxpayers who don’t want to subsidize discrimination.
”We are disappointed that the Iowa Senate has voted to allow taxpayer-funded discrimination on our state’s college campuses. We call on the Iowa House to put a stop to this unnecessary and misguided bill.”
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