The United States Supreme Court Building at 1 First Street Northeast in Washington, D.C.
Colorado has developed a habit of losing First Amendment cases at the U.S. Supreme Court — and it appears they haven't learned their lesson yet.
The High Court has agreed to hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, another First Amendment challenge arising from Colorado. This one involves the state's Universal Preschool Program, which pays for parents to send their children to a preschool of their choice — public or private. Religious schools may participate, but only if they agree to Colorado's nondiscrimination requirement, which mandates equal enrollment opportunity regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
On the surface that sounds reasonable. But look closer. Colorado actually grants numerous exceptions to this rule — preschools may prefer children of color, LGBT families, low-income families, and others. The one exception the state flatly refuses to grant is a religious one. A Catholic preschool that wants to prioritize Catholic families cannot participate. An evangelical Christian school that asks families to support its beliefs about marriage and gender is out. Orthodox Jewish providers face the same wall.
In other words, Colorado will accommodate virtually every preference except a religious one. That is not neutrality. That is targeted discrimination against people of faith, dressed up in the language of inclusion.
Religious families face a stark choice — select a preschool that reflects the government's views on gender and sexuality, or pay entirely out of pocket for one that reflects their own faith and values. Making families of faith pay a premium to exercise their religious convictions is not a neutral policy. It is a penalty for belief.
This case fits a clear pattern. The Supreme Court has already ruled against Colorado for attempting to punish a cake artist, a web designer, and a talk therapist — all for refusing to use their work to affirm messages that violated their faith. Colorado keeps pushing the same agenda through different mechanisms, and the Court keeps sending it back.
The relevant legal precedent is shifting steadily in favor of religious liberty. Just last year the Court ruled that even neutral laws must yield to parents' rights to direct their children's religious education.
Colorado is welcome to start following the Constitution at any time. Let's hope and pray this case keeps their First Amendment record zero before the Supreme Court.
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