Mississippi cities pass equality ordinances to fight state’s anti-LGBT ‘religious freedom’ law

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/06/mississippi-cities-pass-equality-ordinances-to-fight-states-anti-lgbt-religious-freedom-law/



Jackson, MS city councilman Melvin Priester Jr.

Mississippi cities pass equality ordinances to fight state’s anti-LGBT ‘religious freedom’ law
By David Ferguson
Friday, June 6, 2014 12:06 EDT

Jackson, Mississippi — the state’s largest city and its capital — passed a resolution on Tuesday forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation and “supporting equality for all citizens of Jackson, Mississippi.”

According to the Jackson Free Press, the council made the 3-to-1 vote to negate a state “religious freedom” law that would allow residents to discriminate against LGBT people on religious grounds. Jackson was the eighth city in the state to do so.

On April 3, Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signed the Republican-backed SB 2681 into law. Under the law, businesses and service providers could decline to perform their jobs if doing so would place a “burden” on that person’s “right to the exercise their religion.”

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The law would provide legal cover for organizations which refuse to provide their services to paying customers on religious grounds, such as the Colorado bakery that refused to provide a cake for a same-sex wedding.