Campaign for Southern Equality

This morning in Jackson, Mississippi, the Campaign for Southern Equality began the appeals process against Mississippi’s discriminatory HB 1523 bill. 

Earlier this year, the Mississippi Congress passed HB 1523, also known as the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act. Mississippi’s discriminatory House Bill 1523, a so-called “religious freedom” bill has many harmful implications for the LGBT community in Mississippi, including denial of psychological, housing, and medical services based on gender identity and sexual orientation, along with allowing for employment discrimination based upon these factors. Many have criticized HB 1523, including celebrities, advocates and politicians. Despite calls from around the country to veto the bill, Governor Bryant signed HB 1523 into law early April. Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant hopes to deem the controversial bill unconstitutional.

HB 1523 is set to go into effect on July 1. 

GLAAD has been speaking out against discriminatory laws in several states. GLAAD’s resource, “Debunking the ‘Bathroom Bills Myth‘” is a valuable resource for journalists and everyday people to understand the importance and impact of nondiscrimination bills, and ways to debunk falsehoods that often are raised in opposition to such bills. GLAAD is calling on media, both in Mississippi and nationally, to ask media to hold promoters of such discriminatory bills as HB 1523 accountable for false claims they have made.

LGBT advocates and media figures can also find background information about the LGBT community in Mississippi through GLAAD’s guidebook on the state.