Tag: Mississippi

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Mississippi Governor Signs Anti-LGBT “Religious Freedoms” Bill

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed into law the controversial and discriminatory HB 1523 which, in essence, legalizes discrimination against LGBTs in the state by purportedly protecting so-called “religious freedoms.”

From WREG Memphis:

The bill prevents state and local government agencies from taking action against state employees, individuals, organizations and private associations that deny service based on religious beliefs.

It does not prevent civil lawsuits based on claims of discrimination.

The measure’s intention is to protect those who believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman, that sexual relations should only take place inside such marriages, and that male and female genders are unchangeable.

Proponents say the legislation is an answer to states that have fined or taken business permits from companies that deny services such as event rentals and bakery services to same-sex couples.

Circuit clerks who do not want to give a wedding license to a same-sex couple could hand over those duties to a deputy clerk.

Opponents say the state is sanctioning discrimination.

After signing the bill, the governor tweeted this statement:

Immediately following the news, the ACLU issued this statement:

“This is a sad day for the state of Mississippi and for the thousands of Mississippians who can now be turned away from businesses, refused marriage licenses, or denied housing, essential services and needed care based on who they are. This bill flies in the face of the basic American principles of fairness, justice and equality and will not protect anyone’s religious liberty. Far from protecting anyone from ‘government discrimination’ as the bill claims, it is an attack on the citizens of our state, and it will serve as the Magnolia State’s badge of shame.”

UPDATE – The Democratic National Committee has issued this statement from DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

“It’s embarrassing, shameful, and truly perplexing that the Republicans still don’t get it. LGBT Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law, just as everyone else. No exceptions. No allowances for discrimination. That we’re even still debating this in 2016 boggles the mind.

“‘Right to Discriminate’ measures signed into law by Republican governors are proof that the Republican Party’s leaders are stuck in the dark ages when it comes to equality and that they’ve been on a divisive path toward destruction since long before Donald Trump ran for president. In fact, the Republican National Committee has passed resolutions calling on state legislatures to pass discriminatory ‘bathroom bills’ targeted at LGBT youth and calling on Congress to pass a national ‘Right to Discriminate’ law that they cynically call the First Amendment Defense Act.

“No American should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That’s not very complicated, and that’s not who we are as Americans. It’s long past time for the Republicans to get the message.”

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Mississippi: Anti-LGBT Law Heads To Governor’s Desk

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant

Mississippi’s anti-LGBT “Religious Objections” bill is on it’s way to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

From WAPT News:

The Mississippi House on Friday passed a final version of a bill that allows government employees and private business people to cite religious beliefs to refuse licenses or other services for same-sex couples who want to marry. House Bill 1523 is now headed to Gov. Phil Bryant, who is expected to sign it into law.

The bill also says the state cannot punish businesses that refuse to sell goods or services to same-sex couples or religious groups that refuse to let gay or lesbian people be foster or adoptive parents.

The ACLU of Mississippi is against the bill.

“This bill allows freedom of religion to cover prejudice and to justify discrimination. Freedom of religion is one of our most fundamental rights as Americans, but that freedom does not give any of us the right to harm or mistreat others,” the ALCU said earlier this week in a written statement.

The law makes LGBT Mississippians second-class citizens who will now be open to discriminatory business practices.

County clerks can refuse to issue marriage licenses. Religious organizations, upon learning an employee is gay, will be able to legally fire the employee.

Anyone will be able to claim a “sincerely held religious belief,” and then throw gays, lesbians and transgenders out of their business.

Shameful.

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NAACP’s Julian Bond Pens Op-Ed Supporting Marriage Equality In Mississippi

In an op-ed for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, NAACP chairman emeritus Julian Bond writes of safer spaces, civil rights and same-sex marriage in Mississippi:

“Mississippians know sexual orientation or gender identity shouldn’t matter when it comes to working hard and taking care of your neighbor. Mississippians know all children are valued, no matter who they are. And Mississippians know that above all, treating one another with dignity and respect is what counts.

“The fight for basic civil rights is not a quest for superiority or an unvoiced desire for power. It is, at its root, a battle to raise us all up. We all deserve the right to try and fail, move forward and fall back, and ultimately succeed on our own merits and individual gifts. But for many of us, our ability to dream of a greater and more brilliant future is limited by the color of our skin, the texts of our religious tomes, and the gender of whom we love and who we are.

“The push for full equality for all Americans has always come with hurdles and setbacks. But we are not dissuaded from our path. LGBT Mississippians and their families yearn for a better day, one that we can work together to create. Let’s begin right now.”

The entire essay is truly worth the read.

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Mississippi: Starkville Repeals LGBT Protections

LGBT protections passed to aid LGBT couples have been repealed by the city after the mayor tried to salvage the resolution:

The resolution implemented a plus-one insurance option, which allowed Starkville city employees to add a domestic partner to their city-provided insurance regardless of gender or relationship status. After initially passing the resolution in 2014, the board of aldermen voted to rescind the resolution in a closed-door executive session Jan. 6.

Mayor Parker Wiseman, who previously supported the resolution, vetoed the Jan. 6 vote. The override required five votes from the board Tuesday, but the effort fell one vote short after the 4-2 vote.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-advocating organization, issued a statement after Tuesday’s vote.

“Though upsetting and disappointing, the board’s vote tells us that we must do more community engagement to show the leaders of Starkville that equality is important to move the city forward,” the statement read. “Fairness and inclusion is critical to attracting new business to Starkville, diverse students to Mississippi State and quality workers to join the city’s workforce.”

Starkville became the first Mississippi city to denounce discrimination based upon sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression when the board unanimously passed an updated non-discrimination policy in January 2014.

Other cities, including Hattiesburg, Oxford and Jackson, followed suit throughout the year.

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Mississippi Gets January 9 Date With 5th Circuit Court For Marriage Equality

While the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to consolidate Mississippi’s same-sex marriage case to the already scheduled hearings for Texas and Louisian, the court did add Mississippi to the same day’s schedule.

Each side will be given thirty minutes to argue their case.

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State of Mississippi Receives Indefinite Stay On Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

The state of Mississippi has asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for an indefinite stay of a federal judge’s ruling which overturned the state’s same-sex marriage ban.

Given that Plaintiffs’ claims will soon be heard in conjunction with these two other cases, a temporary maintenance of the status quo balances the possibility of this harm with the need to resolve Plaintiffs claims in a manner that is both expeditious and circumspect.

Accordingly, Mississippi’s motion for stay pending appeal is GRANTED.

The original stay on the ruling was set to expire on December 10th.

No Christmas marriages for Mississippi.

Texas and Louisiana will have their appeals heard at the 5th Circuit the first week of January.

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Federal Judge Strikes Down Mississippi’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Mississippi sees it’s ban on marriage equality struck down! Happy Dance Time!

U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves issued his ruling less than a month after he heard oral arguments in the case the Campaign for Southern Equality last month filed on behalf of two lesbian couples seeking marriage rights in the Magnolia State.

“The court concludes that Mississippi’s same-sex marriage ban deprives same-sex couples and their children of equal dignity under the law,” writes Reeves. “Gay and lesbian citizens cannot be subjected to such second-class citizenship.”

Mississippi’s ban was passed by the biggest margin of any state amendment with 86 percent supporting the measure. But, as Judge Reeves points out, “The courts do not wait out the political process when constitutional rights are being violated, especially when the political process caused the constitutional violations in the first place.”

Roberta Kaplan, who successfully argued against the Defense of Marriage Act before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, is the lead counsel in the case and issued this statement:

“This is a big day since it means that gay Mississippians will have the right to be married in their own home state that they love so much. It is also a big day for our country and for our Constitution, since it means that Americans in yet another state can now appreciate that gay people, who are their neighbors, friends and family members, have the right to equal protection of the laws.”

The ruling is stayed for two weeks pending appeal.

(via Washington Blade)

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Human Rights Campaign In Mississippi – “All God’s Children”

The Human Rights Campaign shares this 2nd installment in their campaign – All God’s Children – a public education and engagement campaign that aims to strengthen the foundation of public support for LGBT Mississippians.

The goal is to aid in the passage of pro-equality legislation, and bolster efforts to win marriage equality for Mississippi’s LGBT couples.

In addition, the HRC also has a program called “Project One America” targeting Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi with a comprehensive, multi-year campaign to dramatically expand LGBT equality in the South.

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County Clerks Get Ready For Marriage Equality To Come To Mississippi

After Wednesday’s oral arguments in Mississippi concerning the state’s same-sex marriage ban, hopes are high that gay and lesbian couples will be able to legally marry soon.

Emily Le Coz, for the Clarion-Ledger, wrote that most folks would be surprised if U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves did not rule in favor of marriage equality after the five hour hearing considering the line of questioning by the judge.

In light of that hearing, county clerks across the state have begun preparing for long lines of same-sex couples forming at their doors should the ruling come as expected.

In Wednesday’s federal hearing, state defense attorney Paul Barnes told Reeves he believed county clerks would need “at least two weeks” to accommodate the potential change. In his argument, he cited “chaos” that ensued in Utah after a federal judge there struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban in 2013 and did not grant a stay.

Sherrie Swenson, county clerk for Salt Lake County, which is Utah’s most populated county, told The Clarion-Ledger Thursday her office did not witness “chaos” at all when the federal judge struck down Utah’s ban.

“We had hundreds of people lined up for multiple days, but ‘chaos’ isn’t an appropriate way to describe it,” she said. “Everyone was so courteous and friendly and excited. We were able to issue about 150 licenses the first afternoon (after the ban was lifted) and about 350 that next Monday.”

According to 2010 census statistics, 3,484 same-sex couples live in Mississippi, and 417 live in Hinds County. To accommodate a potential rush on the Hinds County Courthouse if Reeves does not grant a stay, Dunn said the only foreseeable major change would be wording on marriage license paperwork, which her office has the authority to change in “under two minutes.”

Hopefully we’ll have a ruling issued soon.

Forward.