Judge agrees to trial date in Anchorage transgender case

A federal judge in Alaska has agreed to a 2020 trial date for a lawsuit filed by a faith-based Anchorage women’s shelter against the city over a requirement that it accept transgender women.

In an order filed Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason said she accepted a trial date starting April 8, 2020. That date was requested by the parties.

Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian law firm, previously sought an injunction to stop the city from applying its gender identity law to the Hope Center shelter.

The lawsuit also names the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, which became involved after a transgender woman said she was denied entry at the shelter.

An attorney for the city has said the commission’s investigation hasn’t been concluded, largely because of the shelter’s noncooperation.

[Discrimination complaint against downtown Anchorage women’s shelter opens up political front]