Yesterday, the Mississippi legislature passed a bill that will allow businesses to turn away LGBT people as an "exercise of religion." The state's Governor Phil Bryant has pledged to sign it.
Reuters reports:
The American Civil Liberties Union accused lawmakers of ignoring the public outcry against such measures. It noted legislators in other states, including Georgia, Idaho, Maine and Ohio, had rejected similar measures and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed her state's version of the bill in February…
Republican Governor Phil Bryant said in a statement provided on Wednesday that he was proud the measure would add the national motto, "In God We Trust," to the state seal.
Jennifer Riley-Collins, executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi told Reuters, "We remain hopeful that courts throughout the state will reject any attempts to use religion to justify discrimination. Nobody should be refused service because of who they are."
The law will go into effect July 1.
