Washington D.C., Dec 15, 2016 / 00:01 am
Four Massachusetts churches pulled their lawsuit against the state Monday after they received religious exemptions from the state's transgender law.
"The government can't encroach on the internal, religious practices of a church. The language revisions that our lawsuit prompted should ensure that doesn't happen," Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Steve O'Ban stated on Monday, after the lawsuit was withdrawn.
"The comments of commonwealth officials gave these churches reason for great concern, and so we are pleased wording changes have been made to respect the constitutionally protected freedoms these congregations and pastors have," he added.
In July, Massachusetts added "gender identity" to its list of classes protected against discrimination.