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Give Hate a Holiday in Mississippi
This week, HRC was proud to join PFLAG and Equality Mississippi in Tupelo, Mississippi for “Give Hate a Holiday,” a night of music, fellowship and reflection on the work that lies ahead.
It was an honor to be a featured speaker and to have the opportunity to hear from people regarding their fears and concerns regarding HB 1523, the “Religious Liberty Accommodations Act.”
Under this new law, religion could be used by almost any individual or organization to justify discrimination against LGBT people, single mothers, unwed couples, and others. Tax-payer funded faith-based organizations could: refuse to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples for provision of critical services including emergency shelter; deny children in need of loving homes placement with LGBT families including the child’s own family member; and refuse to sell or rent a for-profit home to an LGBT person — even if the organization receives government funding. It would also give foster families the freedom to subject an LGBTQ child to the dangerous practice of “conversion therapy,” and subject a pregnant unwed girl to abuse, without fear of government intervention or license suspension. It would even allow individuals to refuse to carry out the terms of a state contract for the provision of counseling services to all eligible individuals, including veterans, based on the counselor’s beliefs about LGBT people or single mothers.
Furthermore, schools, employers, and service providers could refuse transgender people access to appropriate sex-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity — all in direct conflict with the U.S. Department of Justice’s enforcement of federal law. HB 1523 even legalizes Kim Davis-style discrimination by allowing government employees to abdicate their duties and refuse to license or solemnize marriages for LGBT people.
It’s time to give hate a holiday in Mississippi.
www.hrc.org/blog/give-hate-a-holiday-in-mississippi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
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