Mississippi legislation: Hatred rising

Austin Stallings
Journalism Intern

An adoption agency could refuse to place a child with a family if the parents lived together before they were married. A counselor could refuse to help an LGBT teen who called a suicide hotline. A car rental agency could refuse to rent a car to a same-sex couple for use on their honeymoon. And a corporation could fire a woman for wearing pants (though this would likely still be illegal under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act).

Those are just a few of the scenarios that would be perfectly legal, and would go unpunished should Mississippi’s new anti-LGBT legislation be passed.

These protections extend even if the disagreement does not involve the government as a party. In other words, anybody can cite their religious beliefs to justify their discriminatory behavior if sued by the victims of that discrimination. When they do, they are entitled not only to victory in court, but compensatory damages as well.

This bill has already made significant progress through the Mississippi legislature. The House approved it last month by an 80-39 vote and the Senate is taking it up Wednesday.

The Gayly 3/30/16 @ 2:30 p.m. CDT