(NationRise.com) – A North Dakota federal judge issued a ruling barring the Biden administration from forcing Christian companies and organizations to cover transgender procedures.
Daniel Trayno, a Trump-appointed judge serving for the District of North Dakota, sided with the group Christian Employers Alliance in their appeal against Biden’s interpretation of federal laws against discrimination. He concluded that Constitutional protections of religious liberties forbid the government from requiring them to give “gender transition services.”
The Department of Health and Human Services joined the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in attempting to label the refusal to provide such procedures as a violation of employee rights. Their goal was to force all US employers to cover transgender transitions for employees.
The Christian Employers Alliance initially challenged the legality of the proposal in 2021. Their lawsuit was based on grounds that Biden’s mandates were unconstitutional. They specifically blamed the EEOC for incorrectly translating discrimination laws and attempting to enforce them unlawfully. The HHS attempted to interpret “sex” as meaning gender identity. The specific policy in question stems from a 2020 Supreme Court decision in the case Bostock v. Clayton County. That resulted in a new provision in Obamacare that sought to include gender identity in its nondiscriminatory precepts.
Judge Trayno agreed after they petitioned the court to cease enforcement of the mandates. He called the move a considerable burden for religious organizations that cannot violate their convictions. The group called the ruling a “victory for religious employers.”
The court filed an injunction in May 2022 that temporarily suspended enforcement of the policy. It remained on hold for nearly two years as deliberations continued. Shannon Royce, the CEA’s president, said the ruling left her “overjoyed” as it set a precedent for future attempts to force religious organizations to violate their precepts. Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Matt Bowman also praised the ruling and said that it would stop the administration from enforcing an illegal policy.
As of this writing, the Biden administration has not announced whether it will attempt to appeal the decision.
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