(NewsNation) — The United States Supreme Court has ordered a hold be put on a lower court ruling that said Yeshiva University must recognize the formation of a LGBTQ student group on campus.
Signed by Justice Sonia Sotmayor, the SCOTUS order says the ruling by a New York trial court is to be “stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court,” effectively pumping the brakes on the movement of the case.
Yeshiva University is a private, orthodox Jewish college, which contended the recognition of the LGBTQ group, the “YU Pride Alliance” would “violate its sincere religious beliefs.”
A court in New York struck down Yeshiva’s argument, which included a contention it already had a recognized Pride group on campus, and ordered the school to recognize the YU Pride Alliance. The lower court used a city law in New York to mandate the school’s recognition of the group.
The Supreme Court, which is viewing the case as a religious freedoms issue, sided with the university in its emergency request to block the New York court’s orders.
The lower New York court said the university does not qualify for a religious exemption to New York law because it is not a religious corporation, according to The Hill.
“Yeshiva’s organizing documents do not expressly indicate that Yeshiva has a religious purpose,” the court wrote. “Rather, Yeshiva organized itself as an ‘education corporation’ and for educational purposes, exclusively.”