20-05-2025
Christian overnight camp says it will be shut down under Colorado's gender identity rules
DENVER (KDVR) — A Christian youth camp is claiming in a federal lawsuit that it will be forced to shut down if Colorado's new rules that allow children to use facilities based on gender identity are enforced.
Camp IdRaHaJe, named for the hymn 'I'd Rather Have Jesus,' filed a lawsuit last week that seeks to 'uphold its religious and commonsense beliefs about biological sex,' after Colorado changed rules allowing children to use bathrooms, sleep and dress in facilities assigned to their gender identity.
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IdRaHaJe said it requested to run the camp in line with its beliefs — i.e., requiring campers to use facilities determined by their biological sex.
Those regulations are made by the Colorado Department of Early Education. The camp says that it will be inspected for compliance in June or July, and will not 'violate its religious beliefs and exercise and will thus face revocation or suspension of its license and fines in June.'
The rules that the camp is taking issue with were adopted in December 2024 and became effective in February this year. The rule discusses the facilities that are to be provided at licensed camps and how they are treated. For example, the rule discusses separate staff and children's toilet facilities and further says that 'school-age children must be allowed to use the toilet facilities that correspond with their gender identity.'
IdRaHaJe has partnered with the Alliance Defending Freedom to bring this case. ADF lawyers were also involved in arguing a case involving Colorado-based web designer Lorie Smith, in a free speech case after she said she didn't want to create messages for LGBTQ couples; as well as a lawsuit involving a Christian baker from near Denver who refused to bake a cake for a transgender woman.
'The government has no place telling religious summer camps that it's 'lights out' for upholding their religious beliefs about human sexuality,' said ADF Legal Counsel Andrea Dill in a press release concerning the lawsuit.
She said that IdRaHaJe seeks to minister the Bible's message to thousands of children each year as they build character and lifelong memories at the overnight camp.
'But the Colorado government is putting its dangerous agenda—that is losing popularity across the globe—ahead of its kids,' Dill continued. 'We are urging the court to allow IdRaHaJe to operate as it has for over 75 years: as a Christian summer camp that accepts all campers without fear of being punished for its beliefs.'
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The camp is located in Bailey and says it has maintained a resident camp license since 1995, but has been in operation since 1948. In its lawsuit, the camp says that 'children who struggle with gender dysphoria are welcome to attend IdRaHaJe's summer camps so long as the child's parents or guardians agree that the child will follow the Camp's policies like all other campers and everyone agrees that attending camp will be a positive experience for the child.'
The camp is also arguing, through the ADF legal team, that it has received exemptions for certain requirements, such as the requirement that playground equipment not exceed six feet.
'IdRaHaJe has requested a religious exemption from the resident camp regulations that require camps to allow campers to use shower, dressing, and sleeping facilities based on chosen gender identity,' the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit said that the department denied the request and told the camp that a special school or class in religious instruction exemption would not apply to IdRaHaJe.
The camp is asking the court to grant an exemption from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood's rules on gender and facilities.
FOX31 reached out to the Colorado Department of Early Education for comment on the lawsuit and received a brief statement in return.
'This matter concerns pending litigation, and CDEC will address it through the appropriate legal channels. We have no further comment at this time,' the agency stated.
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