LGBT Activists 'Out' Christian Schools over Title IX Exemption
Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Dr. Everett Piper says he's not concerned about LGBT activist efforts to "out" Christian colleges seeking a religious exemption from Title IX.
Title IX is a 1972 federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity on the basis of sex. In 2014, the Obama administration re-interpreted the law to include protection for transgender individuals.
Last week, the Department of Education, under pressure from LGBT activists, released a list of more than 70 schools that received a religious exemption from the law. Most of the schools applied for the waiver following the 2014 DOE re-interpretation.
The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy organization, said the DOE's list will call attention to transgender discrimination.
"The alarming and growing trend of schools quietly seeking the right to discriminate against LGBT students, and not disclosing that information publicly, is what spurred our call for greater transparency," HRC President Chad Griffin said.
"We believe that religious liberty is a bedrock principle of our nation, however, faith should never be used as a guise for discrimination," he said.
Piper told CBN News he supports Title IX but cannot support opposite-sex bathroom access for transgender students.
"Essentially we're saying this: how can we give women equal access to anything if we buy into this post-modern fallacy of suggesting that a woman is a fabrication rather than a scientific reality, rather than an objective fact?" he said.
Schools that do not comply with Title IX risk losing federal funding, including Pell grants and student loans.
"Millions of dollars of loss would be in play here, if indeed you were de-recognized by Title IX," Piper said.
Piper said he's not concerned that LGBT activists might target Oklahoma Wesleyan and other Christian schools for seeking a religious exemption.
"I'm proud of seeking the exemption," Piper said, "because I'm proud of being pro-woman."
