This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Joe Biden’s administration is scheming to eliminate protections for religious liberty on America’s campuses, by removing a rule created during the Trump administration requiring equal treatment for college organizations.
A report at the Washington Stand notes that Biden is just “days away” from revoking a regulation that defends religious liberties.
Biden’s Department of Education said it intends to wipe from the books a requirement that colleges give religious student groups the same accommodations as other student organizations.
The potential penalties include the withholding of federal aid to colleges that openly discriminate based on faith.
The Trump administration’s rule, called the Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry Final Rule, came about in 2019, after Trump administration officials determined they needed the leverage of access to federal funds to ensure education institutions “uphold fundamental rights” in the Constitution.
The Washington Stand explained, “But the Biden administration’s Education Department announced its intention to wipe the religious freedom protection off the books in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued on February 21. Democratic regulators say the rule is ‘not necessary’ to protect the First Amendment, because students may sue universities in court. They also say the rule caused ‘confusion’ for college administrators and created a novel and unduly burdensome role for the Department of Education.”
However, reported the Washington Stand, public comment on the Biden plan from Advancing American Freedom, founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, says the rule is needed.
That organization posted in a comment on the pending change that the 2019 rule reflects the historical reality that “religious groups (particularly minority religions) are always at risk of having their First Amendment rights infringed.”
Such cases of discrimination actually have appeared in numerous locations across the nation in recent years, with Christian student organizations being limited or even banned while “Democrat” or “black” organizations, and those similar, have been promoted.
AAF explained, “The regulation’s requirements are straightforward and easy to follow.”
The Washington Stand reported, “The pro-life nonprofit’s analysis came as part of the public comment period allowed for most proposed federal regulations; any citizen may comment on Biden’s proposed religious liberty reversal until next Friday, March 24.”
In fact, FRC Action noted, “With free speech and religious freedom under attack on college campuses across America, we need the protections provided by the ‘Free Inquiry Rule’ now more than ever.”
The organization suggests commenters tell Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “Religious student groups on university campuses, including religious minorities, too often face the risk of being shut down or ‘canceled’ by fellow students or school officials for expressing sincerely held beliefs perceived to be controversial.”
Many Supreme Court cases already establish that religious organizations receive equal access to publicly funded goods and services the government provides to the general public, but even so, just recently at Stanford University, leftists shouted down Judge Kyle Duncan because of his work defending religious liberty in the courts.
A university official joined with the students, instead of defending free speech.
Already joining the AAF was a commenter who explained, “I was part of ‘Cal Christian Fellowship’ at the University of California Berkeley back from 1981 to 1986. My faith community provided me with significant friendships that continue to sustain me now.”
