A Colorado Christian camp named IdRaHaJe is taking the state to court, according to legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom.
ADF said in a press release that attorneys representing Camp IdRaHaJe filed a lawsuit on Monday.
Andrea Dill is Legal Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom.
She explained the camp's name.
"It's actually named after the hymn 'I'd rather have Jesus,” she said.
Each syllable of Camp IdRaHaJe is the first two letters from each word.
"It offers Christian summer camps to children of all faiths and backgrounds, and it serves thousands of children every summer, but unfortunately, the state is forcing the camp to adopt its extreme policies on gender and sexuality to maintain its license to operate in the state."
IdRaHaJe serves children ages six to 17 and offers off-site backpacking and camping trips along with numerous on-site activities. Each year, 2,500 to 3,000 students attend, and the camp’s mission is to “win souls to Jesus Christ through the spreading of the Gospel.” The camp is open to children of all backgrounds and beliefs, and parents are asked to agree to the camp’s policies when registering.
ADF attorneys note in their complaint in Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je Association v. Roy that the camp met all of Colorado’s resident camp licensing requirements until the recent amendment. The department annually inspects camps, and any reported violation of regulations risks a loss of license and shutting the camp down. The department allows individualized exemptions, but the department refused to grant the camp an exemption from the amendment that violates its religious beliefs.
Dill explained that specifically, the state has adopted regulations that requires camps let campers use private facilities based on their chosen gender identity, not their actual sex.
"So, ADF is representing IdRaHaJe to challenge these new regulations because the Supreme Court has found multiple times that a state cannot force a religious organization to give up its religious structure and exercise to participate in otherwise available government programs."
