A small Christian college in Missouri has had enough of President Joe Biden’s left-wing cultural nonsense and is pushing back.
Specifically, College of the Ozarks, located in Point Lookout, is opposed to an executive order Biden’s handlers had him sign early in his term that redefined the terms “sex,” “sexual orientation,” and “gender identity.”
Within a few weeks, Biden’s Department of Housing and Urban Development then promulgated and published new rules that requires schools to open their women’s dormitories — including showers — to biological men who “identify” as women.
The rule did not provide for any exemptions, including those citing religious beliefs.
As such, the college has filed suit against the administration, “arguing that the historical interpretation of the Fair Housing Act confirms that ‘sex’ means biological sex,” The Western Journal reported.
The outlet noted further:
The college also argued that not only does the Biden executive order violate the school’s constitutional right to “operate consistently with their religious beliefs,” but also that there should have been a public notice and comment period before such a drastic change was made.
In September, a three-judge panel from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case and denied a petition for the matter to be heard by the full court.
Through the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, the college responded in February and has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to look into the case.
“Young women shouldn’t be forced to have to change or undress in the presence of men,” ADF senior counsel Julie Marie Blake told The Western Journal on Friday, the outlet said. “Young women should not be forced to have men as roommates.”
“We’re hoping that the Supreme Court realizes that there’s a lot of really important issues here about government overreach and women’s privacy and religious freedom,” she added.
Losing the case would mean that the college faces six-figure fines, punitive damages, and, perhaps, criminal liability for school officials, the outlet said.
“All of those sanctions are on the table, and jail time’s even a possibility,” Blake noted.
Esther Rea, a senior at the college who is pursuing a major in public relations, told the outlet it’s “extremely scary” to consider having to share so much intimate space with biological men.
“It’s not a thought that I really want to have, actually,” she said.
“Where I live now … I know it’s safe,” Rea said. “I have a lot of comfort in knowing where I live right now, I don’t have to share that space with men.”
