Four Massachusetts churches are suing the commissioners of commonwealth’s Commission Against Discrimination and Attorney General to overturn a law that could fine or jail priests and pastors for not agreeing with the state on gender identity.

“That’s certainly a possibility,” Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Christiana Holcomb told The Stream, about jail or fines for pastors who use biologically correct pronouns. “But what we know for certain is that the Massachusetts human rights commission and attorney general have made clear that they intend to control how churches operate and even how their church leaders communicate their beliefs about biological sex.”

Constitutional Violations

Filed by Horizon Christian Fellowship in Fitchburg, Abundant Life Church in Swansea, House of Destiny Ministries in Southbridge and Faith Christian Fellowship in Haverhill, the lawsuit argues that a July law forcing places of public accommodations to accept the government’s definition of gender violates both the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The churches have also asked a U.S. District Court to apply an injunction against the state’s law.

Named in the lawsuit are three Commissioners of the Massachusetts  (CMAD) and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. The law, which was signed by Governor Charlie Baker in July and took effect on October 1, affects employment, housing, restrooms and pronouns.

As The Stream has previously reported, the MCAD has issued guidance as to how the law will be applied. According to that guidance, the law affects churches if they hold “secular” events like “a spaghetti supper.” Fines can total $2,500 — plus legal expenses if churches are sued — and violators face up to a year in jail.

“The government shouldn’t encroach on the internal, religious practices of a church,” said ADF Senior Counsel Steve O’Ban in a press release issued on Tuesday. “Neither the commission nor the attorney general has the constitutional authority to dictate how any church uses its facility or what public statements a church can make concerning a deeply held religious belief, such as on human sexuality.”

MCAD said that it would examine accusations of lawbreaking by pastors “on a case by case basis.” In the same release, Holcomb emphasized that “All events held at a church on its property have a religious purpose, and the government has no authority to violate the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of religion and speech. Government officials have no business determining which church activities are religious and which ones aren’t.”

MCAD the Arbitrator

“MCAD has set itself up as the arbiter of what is, and is not, religious,” Holcomb told The Stream. “But it is wholly unqualified to make those judgments, as evidenced by its ‘spaghetti-supper test.’ Every event that my clients host — from feeding the homeless, to welcoming the community to a spaghetti supper — is part of their religious mission and a means of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with their communities.”

Holcomb’s clients also say in the lawsuit that the law being applied by MCAD is unconstitutionally vague. According to Holcomb, “the legislature delegated to MCAD both the power to interpret and to enforce the Commonwealth’s public accommodations law. As a result, we now have an unelected commission that is trampling the First Amendment freedoms of churches.”

Healey has backed the law signed by Baker, saying in a statement that the bill “is a huge victory for civil rights and for our transgender friends, family and neighbors. So many people have spent years advocating, educating and fighting for equality, and now these important protections will be extended to everyone.”

The release notes that Healey “has worked closely with advocates to garner support for this law,” and that she “testified in support of the legislation and submitted a letter  advocating for its passage” and used taxpayer resources to launch a “social media campaign” backing the bill. That “campaign” included “short video messages from celebrity allies of the transgender community and families from across the state.”

According to the official Attorney General page, the so-called “non-discrimination law” covers “Auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls, houses of worship, and other places of public gathering.”