The update comes one month after Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Colorado, calling the policy extreme and saying it would force the summer camp for kids ages 6 to 17 to abandon the religious beliefs under which it has operated since 1948.
"Fortunately, the state of Colorado agreed to exempt the camp from these gender ideology policies," reports ADF's Andrea Dill.
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) amended its state licensing rules in February to incorporate the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA). That required children's resident camps in the state that are considered "places of public accommodation" to allow campers access to showers, sleeping, and dressing facilities that align with the campers' gender identity.
The department previously implemented gender identity rules regarding bathrooms in 2018.
Now, as part of the settlement, the state has issued a clarifying memo on its website and in administrative guides that "churches, synagogues, mosques, or any other place that is principally used for religious purposes" are exempt from those requirements.
"So, the case will be dismissed, and now the camp can operate this summer and for years to come and minister to the children that attend the camps and adhere to its beliefs without fear of losing its license or without needing to adopt these gender ideology policies," Dill summarizes.
The name IdRaHaJe is a play on the hymn, "I'd Rather Have Jesus."
