Mississippi gay laws

Gay Marriage Advocates Want Mississippi Law Struck Down

JACKSON, Overlook. — Advocates of queer marriage said Monday that they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Mississippi law that lets government workers and business people cite their own religious objections to refuse services to gay couples.

The statute, considered the broadest religious-objections law enacted since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in , has been on carry amid court challenges. But it is set to take effect Friday because a federal appeals court refused to keep blocking it.

Championed and signed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant in , the rule protects three beliefs: that marriage is only between a man and a woman, sex should only take place in such a marriage, and a person's gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered.

"This is an unfair and unconstitutional law," said Robert McDuff, an attorney for some of the gay and vertical Mississippi residents who sued to try to block it.

The Mississippi law would allow clerks to cite religious objections to recuse themselves from issuin

Supreme Court allows Mississippi anti-LGBT law to stand

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a legal battle over a Mississippi regulation that allows articulate employees and confidential businesses to contradict services to LGBT people based on religious objections.

Signed into law in in response to the Supreme Court's same-sex attracted marriage ruling, it allows county clerks to avoid issuing marriage licenses to gay couples and protects businesses from lawsuits if they refuse to aid LGBT customers.

The statute was immediately challenged. But lower courts, without ruling on the merits of the law, said those suing could not show that they would be harmed by it.

A new round of challenges is expected from residents who have been denied service, and the issue could advance back to the Supreme Court's doorstep.

Sponsors of the rule said they wanted to protect those who believe that marriage can occur only between a man and a woman and that a person's gender is determined at birth.

A conservative statute firm that helped defend the commandment praised the Supreme Court for refusing to take up the challenge.

Mississippi's Equality Profile

Sexual Orientation

of population
fully protected

of population only
partially
protected

Legend

State
Protections
County
Protections
City
Protections
No
Protections
Protections
Banned

County map only shows areas with full protections for sexual orientation (i.e., discrimination prohibited in private employment, housing, and common accommodations)

City and County Numbers:

0 counties out of 82 have an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in private employment, housing, and public accommodations (full protections).

5 cities have an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in private employment, housing, and public accommodations (full protections).

0 municipalities, not including those listed above, have an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in private employment, housing, or public accommodations (only partial protections). See table below.

6% of the state population is protected against discrimination based on

Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Self in Mississippi

Key Findings

In total, there are approximately 60, LGBT people aged 16 and older in Mississippi, including approximately 34, who are part of Mississippi’s workforce.
Media reports and lawsuits document incidents of sexual orientation and gender culture discrimination against employees in Mississippi. These include reports from a juvenile corrections officer, a restaurant manager, and an employee of a loan company.
Survey statistics indicate that discrimination against LGBT workers is prevalent across the country, including in Mississippi. In response to a survey of LGBT people in Mississippi, 24% of respondents said they had experienced workplace discrimination and 38% said they had been harassed at work because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
When transgender people are surveyed separately, they report similar or higher levels of discrimination. In , 78% of respondents to the largest national survey of transgender people to date reported having experienced harassment or mist