Lawmakers approve broad Mississippi religious freedom act

A Metro Weekly report said that lawmakers in Mississippi has passed the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Tuesday. The bill has gained controversy as advocates warned that the bill's broad provision could allow discrimination based on religious objections against any group, like the LGBT community, the online news site said.

In a statement, advocacy and policy counsel Eunice Rho with the American Civil Liberties Union said, "Even though the Mississippi legislature removed some of the egregious language from Arizona's infamous SB 1062, we are disappointed that it passed this unnecessary law and ignored the national, public outcry against laws of this nature. We will continue to fight in state legislatures across the country to ensure that religious freedom remains a shield, not a sword."

The Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act's mandate is the assurance that any action by any person based on state action should not burden a person's right to exercise his religion. Metro Weekly said that the bill is similar to another controversial measure that has already been passed in Arizona and had been vetoed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in February. One difference in the Mississippi state bill is that the law will now be adding the text "IN GOD WE TRUST" to the state seal. Metro Weekly said that State Governor Phil Bryant is expected to sign the bill, which will take effect on July 1st.

Human Rights Campaign had said that should the bill would take effect, repercussions will be extensive that services such as garment shops, bakeries, photo studios and others will have the option to deny service to same-sex couples for one.

Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director Sarah Warbelow said in a statement, "While there were many efforts to correct the clearly problematic elements of this legislation, the bill still has the effect of making LGBT people strangers to the law. Before Mississippi has had the opportunity to robustly discuss the lived experiences of LGBT people, this bill would hollow out any non-discrimination protections at the local level or possible future state-wide protections."

Tags

Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, American Civil Liberties Union, SB 1062

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