Court Denies Christian College’s Request to Block Biden’s Directive to Open Single-Sex Dorms to Opposite Sex

The College of the Ozarks in Missouri filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the president’s directive that the school says will lead it and other Christian schools to opening their single-sex dormitories, including shared rooms and showers, to people of the opposite sex. The college argued that the directive is discriminatory and the administration did not provide a period of notice or public comment.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of General Counsel redefined “sex” in the Fair Housing Act to include sexual orientation and “gender identity.” To support the directive, the Biden administration cited a decision by the “conservative” Supreme Court, Bostock v. Clayton County, which interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to bar employment discrimination against homosexuals and “transgendered” people.

The Washington Times reported last week that an Obama-appointed judge denied the college’s request to block the enforcement of the “transgender” executive order.

“After careful consideration of the law … the court denies the plaintiff’s motion for temporary restraining order and injunction,” she said from the bench. “The court does find that the dispute is not justiciable.”

The judge plans to issue a written order as soon as possible, she said.

Valorie Coleman, a spokesperson from the college, said the school will appeal.
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Julie Blake, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom representing the college, said during oral arguments that the high court’s ruling, authored by Justice Gorsuch, noted that the ruling was focused on the employment context and did not apply to gender conflicts over access to dressing rooms.

“When agency officials applied the directive, they did not apply Bostock,” she told the court of Biden officials. “They extended Bostock — it’s a new standard.”

Republican-controlled states are pushing back on the government’s directives to put women at risk and to deprive them of fair competition in athletics. At least 37 states have introduced bills to bar biological males from competing against women in sports. Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, and West Virginia have passed laws.

Photo credit: Nan Fry (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved