the blind administration facing a
lawsuit tonight from the christian
college of the ozarks in missouri over a
directive that mandates religious
schools
opened their dormitories including dorm
rooms and shared shower spaces
to students of the opposite sex spring
in one of the principal players handling
the legal challenge alliance defending
freedom senior council
ryan bangert ryan good to have you with
us tonight good to be here shannon
so forbes outlines it this way they
explain
about the college getting money and
federal money and why that's at stake
they say the suit challenge is a
february executive order
issued by the department of housing and
urban development that ensures
lgbtq people are protected from
discrimination
in federally funded housing and since
colleges get government money through
student loans grants and contracts
they are subject to fair housing laws so
what situation does this now present for
the college
well shannon we brought this lawsuit
because the federal government shouldn't
be able to force
young women to share their dorm rooms
with males
it's just that simple college of the
ozarks is a small
christian school in southwest missouri
that has always integrated its faith
into everything that it does and i want
to point out the forbes article got that
a bit wrong because even if
college of the ozarks gave up every last
penny
of federal money that it receives it
would still be subject
to this fair housing act requirement
that was imposed really in the dead of
night
by an administrative agency without any
notice or comment to the public
without any participation by the players
affected
so if the school resisted or said listen
we've been very clear about how we um
believe that our
campus should operate and the morals and
the values that we have about housing
uh and you know the way that we handle
things here
are is it your worry there would be an
actual enforcement
effort against the college or is that
you know hype
or worry or scaremongering about
something that wouldn't really happen
i don't think it's hype or scare
mongering at all shannon in fact
in the letter that was issued by the
housing and urban development
this was a an unappointed official it
was a bureaucrat
who issued this letter and in the letter
that was issued
she said specifically that enforcement
actions could
be taken based on complaints filed and
that
the fheo as well as any state recipient
of federal funds cooperating with hud
had to receive these complaints process
them and if they found that
discrimination had happened based on
gender identity
charges should be brought
i want to read a little bit of that that
memo that you referenced that comes from
the department of housing and urban
development this is in february and it's
about implementing essentially an
executive order the president said was
about
preventing discrimination on the basis
of gender id or sexual orientation
the hud memo says this at the core of
this department's housing mission is an
endeavor
to ensure that all people peacefully
enjoy a place they call home
where they are safe and can thrive free
from discrimination and fear
i mean to most americans that sounds
like a laudable goal
so how do we balance that with the
concerns the college has
is it possible absolutely shannon it's
absolutely possible and i think that
really points out
the flaw and the way that the
administration went about
imposing this rule this is a rule that
was imposed by an executive agency it
should have gone through notice
and comment to the public the public
should have had an opportunity
to give feedback on this rule but as it
stands it was just cast out there in the
dead of night
without any of those processes being
undertaken
if the federal government if the housing
and urban development
team that put this out would have
undertaken those processes
they could have tailored this rule in a
much better way that would have
respected the religious liberty
interests
of our client as well as ensure that
everyone has a roof over their head
well maybe your lawsuit will lead to
some modifications in this order and the
guidance
that we'll find a way that people can
co-exist on this issue
we'll follow it ryan banker thank you so
much thank you shannon