Appeals court hears Christian homeless shelter’s challenge to Washington anti-discrimination law

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Lawyers for a Christian homeless shelter were in a federal appeals court Friday to challenge a Washington state anti-discrimination law that would require the charity to hire LGBTQ+ people and others who do not share its religious beliefs, including those on sexuality and marriage.Union Gospel Mission in Yakima, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Seattle, is asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive a lawsuit dismissed by a lower court. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a global legal organization, is assisting the mission.
Washington’s Law Against Discrimination prohibits employers with at least eight employees from discriminating based on sexual orientation. Religious organizations are exempt, but the state’s Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that the exemption should only apply to ministerial positions.
Yakima’s Union Gospel Mission hires only co-religionists to advance its religious purpose and expects “employees to abstain from sexual immorality, including adultery, nonmarried cohabitation, and homosexual conduct,” according to court documents.
The Washington state attorney general’s office said the mission sued preemptively and prematurely, based on speculation that it might be subject to enforcement one day, and that it is not investigating the Union Gospel Mission.
But members of the three-judge appellate panel on Friday expressed skepticism with the state.
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