21 state Attorneys General tell Biden his transgender policies threaten religious liberty and free speech

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A group of 21 state attorneys general has written to President Joe Biden, warning him that policies recently enacted by his administration on sexual orientation and gender identity will violate federally protected religious liberty and free speech rights, Christian Headlines reports.

Dated July 7, the attorneys’ letter took issue specifically with two recent actions by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Education, which it said: “threaten to impose unlawful regulatory guidance upon nearly every employer and educational facility in our states and throughout the country.”

The letter asserts that the EEOC violates free speech by forcing government personnel to address individuals by the use of gender pronouns that conform to their stated preference rather than to their biological sex, Christian Headlines reports. The letter also states that the Department of Education is violating federal law related to sports and the use of locker rooms and restrooms.

According to the attorneys, the EEOC has overreached on the 2020 Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County that federal law prohibits discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Christian Headlines reports. The EEOC interpretation of Bostock “appears to ignore” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which has “express statutory exception for religious organizations” and the First Amendment’s protections of “the employment relationship between a religious institution and its ministers,” the letter says. Bostock is “a statutory decision and cannot overrule the First Amendment’s guarantees of religious liberty,” the attorneys add.

“As the chief legal officers of our states, Attorneys General have an obligation to represent the interests of our citizens and their institutions,” the letter says. “The recent actions by the EEOC and ED flout required procedures and the rule of law and serve only to sow confusion among regulated entities – including the employers and schools that operate in our communities. We look forward to working with you to resolve these matters and appreciate your attention to the concerns presented here,” the attorneys said.

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