Obvious ‘selective enforcement,’ and process is not ‘complaint-driven’ as claimed.
The University of Iowa derecognized a Christian student group because it required leaders to abide by “sexual moral conduct” rules.
Now a federal judge has ordered the taxpayer-funded institution to treat Business Leaders in Christ the same as it treats a registered Muslim student club.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose told the university Tuesday to immediately reinstate BLC so it could participate in a “spring recruitment fair” Wednesday that it deemed essential for its continued viability on campus.
The university’s “human rights policy” is at issue in BLC’s lawsuit. It contends the university tricked it into clarifying its club constitution so that the administration would have a pretext to derecognize the club as discriminating against potential club leaders based on sexual orientation.
Rose found that the registration of student clubs is a “limited public forum” – a question she said neither party addressed – and the university’s requirement of adherence to the human rights policy was “reasonable in light of the intended purpose” of club registration.