Several states and cities around the country have instructed their officials to avoid nonessential travel to MS, in reaction to that state’s recent passage of a law protecting those who deny services to LGBT people because of religious beliefs.
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As you have probably seen by now, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has signed into law a controversial bill that offers broad protections against government penalty for certain actions taken in accordance with particular religious beliefs.
Supporters argue that the bills protect religious beliefs but critics say they are discriminatory.
Ellen DeGeneres has spoken out against the new Mississippi Religious Freedom Bill that allows people to discriminate against LGBTIQ people.
Cuomo’s ban on state travel to IN has since been lifted.
“People operating wedding businesses whose consciences cause them to hold the view that marriage is between a man and a woman could face considerable fines under anti-discrimination laws should the definition of marriage be changed”, ACL managing director Lyle Shelton said in a statement Tuesday.
It was unclear whether opponents would seriously push for repeal of the MS law, which is slated to take effect July 1. “The new law perpetuates discrimination, and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture”.
“This bill does not limit any constitutionally protected rights or actions of any citizen of this state under federal or state laws”, Bryant said in a statement.
Concurrent with their examination of North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law, at least three federal agencies are conducting a review of the recently enacted “religious freedom” law in MS seen to enable sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination, the Washington Blade has learned.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of MS said in a statement that Tuesday was “a sad day for the state” and for “the thousands of Mississippians who can now be turned away from businesses, refused marriage licensed, or denied housing, essential services and needed care based on who they are”. In Georgia last month, politicians passed a bill allowing business owners to discriminate against LGBT people if it was in keeping with their faith.
Still, some say the law is necessary to protect their beliefs.
Now legal experts have warned that the law goes further than allowing discrimination against LGBT people, as it could raise issues over religious objections to those who have premarital sex.
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Some say the potential for discrimination that comes along with it reminds them of the old South. The executives wrote that “The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business”. Private businesses could refuse marriage-related services such as room rentals, cakes, photography or flowers.
