The state of Mississippi, among others, has been working on legislation that would provide protections for citizens exercising their religious liberty in the face of secular and political pressures to abandon or disregard their sincerely held beliefs.
According to NPR, the measure put forward by the Mississippi Legislature, known as H.B. 1523, has been deemed “controversial” by the usual opponents of such religious liberty bills.
But Gov. Phil Bryant refused to buckle under the “economic blackmail” and tremendous pressure to veto the bill, instead signing it today and posting a message to social media explaining why.
“I have signed HB 1523 into law to protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions of individuals, organizations and private associations from discriminatory action by state government or its political subdivisions, which would include counties, cities and institutions of higher learning,” Bryant wrote.
“This bill merely reinforces the rights which currently exist to the exercise of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Addressing the bill’s critics, Bryant continued, “This bill does not limit any constitutionally protected rights or actions of any citizen of this state under federal or state laws. It does not attempt to challenge federal laws, even those which are in conflict with the Mississippi Constitution, as the Legislature recognizes the prominence of federal law in such limited circumstances.”
“The legislation is designed in the most targeted manner possible to prevent government interference in the lives of the people from which all power to the state is derived,” he added.
This is major news for Mississippians, and provides a crucial protection for those in the state with strong religious convictions that refuse to bend or break their beliefs in order to accommodate the feelings of someone else.
It remains to be seen if all of the businesses and individuals threatening to leave or never come to Mississippi because of the new law will make good on their vows, or if they’ll finally realize that the opposition and criticism to this bill has been largely overblown because it does not provide for government-sanctioned discrimination.
Please share this on Facebook and Twitter to spread the word that Mississippi’s governor just signed into law a bill that will provide protections for those with strongly held religious beliefs who refuse to act against them.
