December 2016 – Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a lawsuit on behalf of four Massachusetts churches over a new law that allows individuals legal access to bathrooms or locker rooms based on perceived gender identification versus biological sex. The state has identified churches as places of public accommodation and therefore bound by the law.
Plaintiffs are Horizon Christian Fellowship, Abundant Life Church, House of Destiny Ministries, and Faith Christian Fellowship in Haverville. Defendants are members of the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination and state Attorney General Maura Healey.
The law also prohibits covered entities from making statements intended to discriminate or to incite others to do so. ADF argues the state intends to “force churches and pastors to refrain from religious expression regarding sexuality that conflicts with the government’s views.”
