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Kansas Gov. Signs Bill Protecting Religious Freedom of College Faith Groups

  • Veronica Neffinger

    Veronica Neffinger wrote her first poem at age seven and went on to study English in college, focusing on 18th century literature. When she is not listening to baseball games, enjoying the…

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  • Updated Mar 23, 2016

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a bill into law which allows faith-based groups on college campuses to restrict membership to those who are similarly-minded.

Although the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that universities could require such groups to open their membership to any interested party, Gov. Brownback and the Kansas legislature believe that the new law is necessary to protect religious freedom.

“I’m pleased to sign Senate Bill 175 today, the campus religious freedom bill, insuring that college students may also enjoy this bedrock American principle,” Gov. Brownback said, according to cjonline.com. “Senate Bill 175 preserves intellectual diversity and religious liberty by allowing student clubs and organizations to determine the membership of their own groups.”

SRNNews.com reports that the law will likely embroil Kansas in a controversy with civil liberties groups who say the law promotes discrimination.

Although Kansas already has a law preventing state or local government from limiting freedom based on religious beliefs, there was no law applying to universities.

Kansas is the second state to pass such a law, after Oklahoma. The new law will take effect in July.

Publication date: March 23, 2016