FALLS CHURCH, Va. – A conservative legal group has filed lawsuits challenging a new Virginia law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The lawsuits filed this week in state and federal court by Alliance Defending Freedom argue that the new law infringes on their clients' religious freedoms. Earlier this year, Virginia became the first southern state to extend anti-discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Alliance Defending Freedom, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has filed similar lawsuits this year in Minnesota, Washington state and Louisville, Kentucky. While the court ruled in favor of the baker, it did so on narrow grounds that left the broader question in dispute.