CENTER FOR LAW & RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SUES OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY OVER DISCRIMINATORY “NON-DISCRIMINATION” POLICY
Christian Legal Society Chapter at OSU Law School Told to Accept Non-Christians, Practicing Homosexuals as Leaders and Members
COLUMBUS, OH – Attorneys for the Center for Law & Religious
Freedom filed suit today in federal court in Columbus on behalf of an Ohio State University Christian student club that has
been threatened with being stripped of its status as an OSU-recognized student organization for refusing to accept
non-Christians and practicing homosexuals as club members and officers.
Although all students are welcome at meetings of the student
Christian Legal Society club at Ohio State’s Michael E. Moritz College of Law, the club’s constitution and bylaws require its
members and officers to profess faith in Jesus Christ and its leaders to exhibit exemplary moral conduct in accordance with
orthodox Christian doctrine, including a prohibition on practicing homosexuality. A person who engages in homosexual conduct
or adheres to the viewpoint that homosexual conduct is not sinful would not be permitted to serve as a CLS officer. In the
Fall of 2003, OSU threatened to de-recognize the Christian Legal Society law student chapter and strip it of its privileges as
an approved club - including access to meeting rooms, bulletin boards and student organization funding - because it claimed the
chapter violated the University's non-discrimination policy and committed religious and sexual orientation "discrimination" by
imposing these religious requirements on members and officers. After corresponding with Center attorneys, the university on
December 4, 2003 decided to follow a ninety-day review process, during which it would decide whether to recognize the chapter
and amend its non-discrimination policy by creating an exemption for religious groups from the ban on creed, religion, and
sexual orientation discrimination. The review period ended on March 4, 2004, with the university merely promising to extend the
club’s recognized status through the end of the semester.
An allegation of discrimination was filed with the university
against CLS in November 2003 by the Outlaws Association, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group at the law school. The
complaint sought rejection of CLS’ chapter constitution, and thus its recognized status, for failure to include the requisite
non-discrimination language. Although the complaint was subsequently withdrawn during the 90-day review period, the university
has not offered assurances that similar complaints will not be entertained during the extended review period.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling by the court that OSU is violating
the First Amendment rights of expressive association, free speech and free exercise of religion of CLS and similar religious
student organizations by failing to exempt them from a non-discrimination policy that prohibits selecting members and officers
based upon shared religious beliefs, including beliefs regarding homosexual conduct.
“By threatening to enforce its ‘non-discrimination’ policy to
require religious student organizations to accept as members and leaders those whose spiritual and moral views run counter to
the group’s mission, the university tramples upon the constitutional right of religious organizations to define their own
identity,” said Chief Litigation Counsel Steven H. Aden, Esq. “If it insists on pursuing this course, OSU will end up
destroying real diversity of thought in the name of a state-imposed form of groupthink about what is orthodox with respect to
human spirituality and sexuality.”
Christian Legal Society, a 42 year-old nationwide association
of Christian attorneys, law students, law professors, and judges,
established the Center for Law and Religious Freedom in 1975. The
Center is among the most respected voices in the religious liberty
arena.
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