Christian Summer Camp Ends Lawsuit Over Colorado Gender Policy...After Learning It Never Applied

A Christian summer camp in Bailey has ended its federal lawsuit against the state of Colorado, which challenged regulations requiring campers to be separated by gender identity instead of sex.

Camp IdRaHaJe dropped the lawsuit on Tuesday, June 24, after learning that the gender identity policy never applied to the camp in the first place. The camp previously made headlines for claiming that it faced imminent closure from the state for refusing to comply with the policy; its campers are separated by their biological sex at birth, rather than their gender identity.

The gender identity policy applies to camps that are places of public accommodation under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. That means places that are "principally used for religious purposes" are exempt, including Camp IdRaHaJe. State officials say they did not attempt any enforcement action against the camp, and it was never under a threat of closure, despite the lawsuit's allegations.

"We are glad to support Camp IdRaHaJe’s understanding of their ability to provide a Christian camp experience to kids," says Dr. Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), who was the target of the lawsuit.

As part of a settlement agreement, the CDEC issued a memo and added a statement to its administrative guide clarifying that the gender identity policy does not and has never applied to child care providers that are churches, synagogues, mosques or places principally used for religious purposes.

Though that has always been the case, Camp IdRaHaJe framed the clarification as a legal victory, proclaiming that the settlement "allows the camp to operate without compromising its religious and commonsense beliefs about biological sex."

"Government officials should never put a dangerous ideology ahead of kids," says Andrea Dill, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the camp. "State officials must respect religious ministries and their beliefs about human sexuality; they can’t force a Christian summer camp to violate its convictions."

According to the CDEC, the gender identity policy was adopted by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in 2009, requiring places of public accommodation to let individuals use "gender-segregated" restrooms, showers, dressing areas and sleeping facilities that are "consistent with their gender identity." The CDEC, which licenses camps, adopted the gender identity rules for restrooms in 2018, then amended them in February of 2025 to also include showers, dressing areas and sleeping facilities.

The rules caught the attention of Camp IdRaHaJe during that amendment process. In the lawsuit filed in May, the camp alleged that it requested a religious exemption from the gender identity policy, but its request was denied.

The settlement agreement deviates from this narrative, stating that Camp IdRaHaJe submitted written comments to the amendments, asking the CDEC to add a provision allowing exemptions for religious camps in general. The department replied, informing the camp that the rules would comply with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's regulations, which only apply to entities covered by the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, meaning religious camps were already exempt.

Camp IdRaHaJe, a portmanteau for "I’d rather have Jesus," accepts children ages six to seventeen, serving up to 3,000 campers per year. It was founded in 1948.

The camp's legal team, Alliance Defending Freedom, is a leader in the conservative movement against LGBTQ rights.

In Colorado, the group is best known for fighting to let wedding vendors refuse service to gay couples, defending Masterpiece Cakeshop in the Supreme Court in 2018 after the Denver baker refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The group similarly represented the website designer, 303 Creative, and went after Jefferson County Public Schools for the district's transgender student accommodations during overnight trips.