Mississippi Governor Passes Law Allowing People to Deny Services to Gay People

New Mississippi law allows service denial to gay people.

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Complex Original

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Georgia's anti-Gay bill may have been vetoed upon pressure from moneymaking businesses like Disney and AMC, which threatened to stop filming in the state should the bill pass, but Mississippi is clearly not afraid. Mississippi has passed a law that allows people to deny services to gay people. As if one trash Kim Davis wasn't enough. 

On Tuesday the Associated Pressreported Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill 1523 a bill that allows religious groups and private businesses to deny service to gay people because it doesn't align with their religious beliefs. 

The APwrites, "The measure's stated 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."

Gov. Bryant released a statement on Twitter about the bill insisting it was meant to protect religious freedoms. 

He added, "This bill does not limit any constitutionally protected rights or actions of any citizen of this state under federal or state laws. It does not attempt to challenge federal laws, even those which are in conflict with the Mississippi Constitution, as the Legislature recognizes the prominence of federal law in such limited circumstances."

The bill did address potential Kim Davis copycats—the Kentucky county clerk who denied wedding licenses to same-sex couples in spite of marriage equality being the law of the land—saying government employees were obliged to service people.

Georgia's vetoed anti gay bill was similarly said to "protect the religious freedoms" allowing people to refuse service to gay people.  

As previously mentioned Disney and Marvel pressured Georgia after releasing a statement about the bill: "Disney and Marvel are inclusive companies, and although we have had great experiences filming in Georgia, we will plan to take our business elsewhere should any legislation allowing discriminatory practices be signed into state law."

If people fight even half as hard against bills like this one in Mississippi and others that continue to be introduced as they did for marriage equality then hopefully this bill won't last long. 

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