The Briefing Room
State Chapters => State Politics/Government => Topic started by: mountaineer on August 01, 2022, 03:12:00 pm
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Seattle Pacific University Sues Washington State Over LGBT Hiring Investigation
School claims attorney general is “interfering in the religious decisions of a Christian university.”
Alejandra Molina - Religion News Service
July 29, 2022 09:45 AMSeattle Pacific University, a private school associated with the Free Methodist Church, was the site of daily protests for more than a month earlier this summer as students challenged a school policy that prohibited the hiring of LGBT people. Dissenting students called the policy homophobic and discriminatory.
Now, the university says its rights are being violated by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose office launched an investigation into the school’s hiring practices.
Seattle Pacific University is suing Ferguson, claiming his probe aims to influence the university “in its application and understanding of church teaching,” according to the claim filed Wednesday, July 27, in US District Court for the Western District of Washington. The university is represented by Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. ...
At issue is the school’s employee lifestyle expectation policy that states, in part, that “employees are expected to refrain from sexual behavior that is inconsistent with the University’s understanding of Biblical standards, including cohabitation, extramarital sexual activity, and same-sex sexual activity.”
The controversy began after an adjunct nursing professor filed a lawsuit in January 2021, accusing the university of refusing him job opportunities because of his sexual orientation. ...
Christianity Today (https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/july/seattle-pacific-university-lawsuit-washington-lgbt-hiring.html)
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Christian University Faces State Probe Over ‘LGBT’ Policies
Todd Starnes
Aug 1, 2022
Washington State has launched an investigation into the hiring practices of a Christian university.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson is reportedly probing Seattle Pacific University’s religious beliefs that prohibit the hiring of LGBT people.
“Seattle Pacific University admits that it refuses to hire gay faculty and staff,” Ferguson said in a statement obtained Friday by television station KIRO.
Ferguson’s office sent a letter to the university, demanding “prompt production of voluminous and sensitive internal information on the University’s religious policies and their application to any and all faculty, staff, and administrators.”
The school, which is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, has been targeted in recent months by massive protests from students who say the policies are homophobic and discriminatory. They allege that students complained to the attorney general prompting the investigation. ... Todd Starnes (https://www.toddstarnes.com/campus/christian-university-faces-state-probe-over-lgbt-policies/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=todd-starnes-newsletter&utm_campaign=breaking&utm_content=firefly)
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That this law violates the 1st Amendment Free Exercise clause is not accident or carelessness. It's an intentional attack on certain religious orgs and people.
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Christian University Faces State Probe Over ‘LGBT’ Policies
Todd Starnes
Aug 1, 2022
Washington State has launched an investigation into the hiring practices of a Christian university.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson is reportedly probing Seattle Pacific University’s religious beliefs that prohibit the hiring of LGBT people.
“Seattle Pacific University admits that it refuses to hire gay faculty and staff,” Ferguson said in a statement obtained Friday by television station KIRO.
Ferguson’s office sent a letter to the university, demanding “prompt production of voluminous and sensitive internal information on the University’s religious policies and their application to any and all faculty, staff, and administrators.”
The school, which is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, has been targeted in recent months by massive protests from students who say the policies are homophobic and discriminatory. They allege that students complained to the attorney general prompting the investigation. ... Todd Starnes (https://www.toddstarnes.com/campus/christian-university-faces-state-probe-over-lgbt-policies/?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=todd-starnes-newsletter&utm_campaign=breaking&utm_content=firefly)
Well, they won't hire heterosexuals who are shacking up, either.