Not to take eyes off North Carolina, where protests ensue and we still need NC lawmakers to correct course on their heinous anti-LGBTQ law, but the newest hotspot is Mississippi. Dominic Holden reports:
The Republican-dominated Mississippi Senate voted 31-17 on Wednesday night for a religious freedom bill that critics believe is the the most sweeping anti-LGBT legislation in the United States, allowing denial of products and services in a wide range of venues. [...]
The bill already passed the House 80-39 in February. However, the Senate’s version was amended slightly, and the House must concur before the legislation can go to the governor.
One more vote remains to be taken in the Senate later this week after a Democratic motion to reconsider, but the measure’s approval is likely a foregone conclusion. Naturally, Republicans control both Mississippi chambers and they have a lot of concerns about the special rights of Christians being trampled upon following the legalization of same-sex marriage.
“It gives protection to those in the state who cannot in a good conscience provide services for a same-sex marriage,” Sen. Jenifer Branning said in an address to her colleagues.
“I don’t think this bill is discriminatory,” she continued, saying the bill instead protects the rights of Christians from government retribution if they oppose same-sex couples getting married. [...]
Critics widely argue the bill would explicitly allow the denial of services, goods, wedding products, medical treatment, housing, and employment to LGBT people.
Remember when social conservatives accused gays of wanting "special rights" because we wanted to be able to marry and work at jobs and find housing without fear of harassment and discrimination? We still don't even have all those freedoms but for one—the freedom to marry—and now Christians want to protect their "special rights" to discriminate.