By John Mack Freeman
A new law in Kansas would allow student groups on public college and university campuses to discriminate against other students as long as the discrimination was rooted in a “sincere religious belief.” Governor Sam Brownback signed the legislation in to law this week. Via Advocate.com:
The legislation, officially titled the Campus Religious Freedom Bill, prohibits schools from denying funds or space on campus to faith-based groups that make adherence to certain beliefs a condition of membership or leadership.
That means, for example, a Christian group would be allowed to reject a student who is Muslim, Jewish, or gay. A group could also reject someone who does not subscribe to the group’s theological convictions about, for instance, sex outside of marriage. Such rejections, as long as they are justified by “sincerely held religious beliefs,” could not be used as grounds for university officials to disband the group or deny on-campus meeting space, even if these rejections violate the school’s own nondiscrimination policy.
Governor Brownback has long be an outspoken opponent of GLBT rights.