While welcomed by some the law also attracted a great of criticism. “This bill merely reinforces the rights which now exist to the exercise of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment of the U.S. Condition”.
Advertisement
In an April 4 statement, the association said it had “grave concerns regarding House Bill 1523, and its potential impact on business and industry in our state”. The law will take effect July 1 (Senate Bill 175).
Such measures began emerging in various states in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer that effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is banning state-funded travel to yet another state that has passed legislation he’s criticized as discriminatory.
“Mississippi and its citizens deserve better than this unconscionable law”.
One possible explanation for the disparate reactions is that MS – by some measures the poorest state in the country – has a different relationship with big American businesses.
NY and Vermont banned some or all official travel Tuesday. I used to go to MS as a kid all the time. “What is does is it prohibits your government from discriminating against you with regard to your religious beliefs”.
“This violates their constitutional rights in so many ways”, said George Cochran, a constitutional law professor at the University of Mississippi. Thompson said he is concerned about what the bill will do to business development in the state.
The states film industry could also take a hit from this controversial legislation.
Lish said he worries this new law will only push others to follow suit.
The leader of a national conservative group is praising Gov. Phil Bryant for “extraordinary courage” in signing a law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to deny services to gay and transgender people.
Addressing Mississippi’s Religious Freedom Bill, the 58-year-old comic points out everything that’s wrong with this new law, using her trademark wit and hilarity, of course.
Executives for General Electric Co., Dow Chemical Co., PepsiCo Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Choice Hotels International Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., and Whole Foods Market Inc. called for the law’s repeal in a letter released by the Human Rights Campaign. The diocese had no involvement in the other portions of the bill that addressed business and government operations. They must have a glass statehouse in the capital city of Jackson.
However, the bill says people can deny services or goods for the “celebration or recognition of any marriage, based upon or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction”, which would include pre-ceremony celebrations, post-wedding celebrations, anniversary celebrations and other related celebrations, opponents argue.
“This is a very sad week for our state”. The law now simply protects religious organizations and a narrow slice of small businesses from being forced by government to engage in behavior that contradicts their deeply held beliefs. The measure protects wedding-service providers as well as counselors, marriage-license clerks and adoption agencies.
Advertisement
“This bill flies in the face of the basic American principles of fairness, justice and equality and will not protect anyone’s religious liberty”, Jennifer Riley-Collins, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of MS, said in a statement. The organization has called the bill an “unprecedented attack” on the counseling profession and government overreach.
