In a decision that will hopefully be set a standard for eliminating "religious freedom" laws designed to harass, discriminate against and inconvenience homosexuals and others, Judge Carlton Reeves has struck down a law passed in Mississippi that allows clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of their "religious beliefs",
The measure was part of House Bill 1523 (or "Religious Liberty Accommodations Act") , due to come into force on Friday and was one of a number of gestures in the bill that enshrined religiously justified bigotry in the form of belief that marriage was only recognisable between "one man and one woman" and gender was immutable and determined by "anatomy and genetics at time of birth".
The law also states that the state government of Mississippi shall not take any discriminatory action against a religious organization when it comes to issuing marriages, employment (including state employees), sale, rental, housing, adoption, declines to participate in sex reassignment surgery, conversion therapy, or services that accommodate or facilitates marriages "based upon or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."
This, and a few similar measures in other states, triggered UK and EU warnings to LGBT persons travelling to the US South.
Reeves, who previously overturned Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage, has now decreed that circuit clerks are required to provide equal treatment for all couples, gay or straight, and that all clerks must be given formal notice of that requirement.
Further rulings are awaited on other lawsuits concerning the bill.
AP.
The measure was part of House Bill 1523 (or "Religious Liberty Accommodations Act") , due to come into force on Friday and was one of a number of gestures in the bill that enshrined religiously justified bigotry in the form of belief that marriage was only recognisable between "one man and one woman" and gender was immutable and determined by "anatomy and genetics at time of birth".
The law also states that the state government of Mississippi shall not take any discriminatory action against a religious organization when it comes to issuing marriages, employment (including state employees), sale, rental, housing, adoption, declines to participate in sex reassignment surgery, conversion therapy, or services that accommodate or facilitates marriages "based upon or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."
This, and a few similar measures in other states, triggered UK and EU warnings to LGBT persons travelling to the US South.
Reeves, who previously overturned Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage, has now decreed that circuit clerks are required to provide equal treatment for all couples, gay or straight, and that all clerks must be given formal notice of that requirement.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Judge Carlton Reeves
Mississippi's elected officials may disagree with Obergefell, of course, and may express that disagreement as they see fit—by advocating for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, for example. But the marriage license issue will not be adjudicated anew after every legislative session.
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AP.
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/290RkV0
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