A Christian summer camp in Colorado is suing over a gender policy it says could shut it down.
Camp IdRaHaJe in Bailey, Colorado, is asking a court to allow it to follow its sincerely held religious beliefs and separate campers by sex and not gender identity, The Denver Post reported.
The camp, which has been licensed in Colorado since 1995 and derives its name from the song “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” has operated for decades, dating back to 1948, and hosts thousands of children in its week-long program every summer.
The issue centers on state regulations governing gender, with the camp declining to operate based on newly adopted parameters due to its Christian faith.
A May 12 lawsuit, filed on Camp IdRaHaJe’s behalf by conservative legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom, details the camp’s concerns after Colorado Department of Early Childhood last year created new regulations mandating licensees like the camp allow children to use restrooms and other facilities that comport with their gender identities.
“Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a lawsuit Monday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on behalf of a Christian summer camp seeking to uphold its religious and commonsense beliefs about biological sex,” a press release reads. “The camp is challenging a recent Colorado Department of Early Childhood policy update that forces licensed resident camps to allow campers to use private facilities of the opposite sex.”
According to The Denver Post, the camp said it attempted to get a religious exemption, which wasn’t granted. According to ADF, the purported denial forced “the camp to choose between upholding its beliefs about biological sex and risk losing its license or abandoning its beliefs and mission to minister to children.”
ADF legal counsel Andrea Dill said in a statement the government doesn’t have the right to threaten to shutter or punish a Christian camp simply for exercising its “religious beliefs about human sexuality.”
“Camp IdRaHaJe exists to present the truth of the Gospel to children who are building character and lifelong memories,” Dill said in a statement. “But the Colorado government is putting its dangerous agenda—that is losing popularity across the globe—ahead of its kids.”
She continued, “We are urging the court to allow IdRaHaJe to operate as it has for over 75 years: as a Christian summer camp that accepts all campers without fear of being punished for its beliefs.”
Meanwhile, Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, said in a statement to CBS News that officials cannot comment on active litigation, but that the agency will work with faith-based groups “within the confines of the law.”
“The Department will continue working in partnership with faith-based providers and camps within the confines of the law to ensure maximum participation,” the statement read. “As I’m sure you understand, we cannot comment on active litigation.”
CBN News will continue to cover this story as it unfolds.
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