Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he's being bullied by the ACLU

by Austin Stallings
Journalism Intern

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant joined the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins on Washington Watch to discuss the criticism he’s taken on a law he signed that permits businesses in the state to refuse services to LGBT people and others.

Perkins claimed that the ACLU is suing the state over the new law because it only cares about religious freedom claims “that don’t conflict with its sexual agenda.”

“Well, of course,” Bryant said. “I mean, they cherry-pick these issues. If they had any integrity at all, they would say, ‘We understand Mississippi is actually trying to make sure that Christians and people of other faiths are not discriminated against.’ It is a nondiscriminatory law. It prevents discrimination against simply that segment of the population that has a deeply held religious view about marriage.”

He added that his “dear friend Pat McCrory,” the governor of North Carolina, is facing similar backlash for a sweeping bill aimed at removing legal protections for LGBT people.

“And we’re criticized, we’re threatened, we’re bullied, we’re told by corporations that we’re doing the wrong thing?” he asked. “Where on earth have we come to simply say, ‘I do not wish my daughter in her school or in her university to have to have a male in the shower and in the dressing room and in the restrooms.’”

He said, however, that he had some hope: “I think the rest of the nation is beginning to wake up and say, ‘What world do they think we’re living in? This is not Hollywood, this is not more liberal areas, this is America, where common sense still prevails.’”

Governor Bryant is speaking in reference to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU.

“We’re stepping up to fight this sweeping anti-LGBT and unconstitutional law that authorizes discrimination against gay and transgender people,” said ACLU staff attorney Josh Block. “HB 1523 has no rightful place in Mississippi or in our history books, and we’re hopeful this lawsuit can stop as much of it as possible before it goes into effect. We won’t rest until every last piece of this law is struck down and all LGBT people in Mississippi have equal justice under the law.” 

The harms caused by HB 1523 are not limited to married same-sex couples. In particular, HB 1523 includes many provisions authorizing discrimination against transgender people outside the context of marriage, and against anyone who has sex outside of heterosexual marriage.

The case, ACLU of Mississippi v. Judy Moulder, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi in Jackson. The ACLU and attorney Oliver Diaz are co-counsel. 

The Gayly- 5/13/2016 @ 1:00 p.m.