Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant Signs 'Religious Freedom' Bill Into Law

• "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," the Republican governor wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account.
  The measure allows churches, religious charities and privately held businesses to decline services to people whose lifestyles violate their religious beliefs. Individual government employees may also opt out, although the measure says governments must still provide services.
  "This bill does not limit any constitutionally protected rights or actions of any citizen of this state under federal or state laws," Bryant said. "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." [Fox News]

• The SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission published an article April 1 titled “Will Mississippi Lead the Way?” The article, co-authored by ERLC research assistant Josh Wester and director of policy studies Andrew Walker, urged Gov. Phil Bryant to sign the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act” passed last week in the state legislature.
  
  The bill, introduced by House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Baptist layman who serves on the board of trustees at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, would allow business and government workers to deny services based on religious beliefs. Americans United for Separation of Church and State labeled it “dangerous” and some legal scholars say it is unconstitutional.
  The ERLC article called HB 1523 “an exemplary model for public policy.”
  “While state governments in New Mexico, Oregon and Colorado have recently weakened religious liberty in these states, the Mississippi legislature has courageously acted to preserve rights of conscience for all Mississippians,”  Wester and Walker wrote. “This bill strikes an important balance that recognizes the new realities created by the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision — legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide — while offering reasonable accommodations for citizens whose sincerely held moral and religious beliefs remain opposed to such practices.”

NPR: Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed a controversial "religious freedom" bill into law.
The law, HB 1523, promises that the state government will not punish people who refuse to provide services to people because of a religious opposition to same-sex marriage, extramarital sex or transgender people.
Supporters say it protects the rights of people who are opposed to homosexuality but who now live in a country where same-sex marriage is a legal right.
Opponents say the bill amounts to a state sanction for open discrimination.

The law's language also suggests protections for those who deny services based on an opposition to premarital sex; but similarly, it was already legal in Mississippi to deny an unmarried couple housing because of a moral objection.
Paul Boger of Mississippi Public Broadcasting reports that Republican state Rep. Andy Gipson of Braxton, who introduced the bill, says the measure has been misrepresented.
"It specifically says that is a case where a person has a religious conviction, they can decline, but they must provide somebody in their office to provide that service," Gipson says.

CNN: The ACLU of Mississippi promptly responded, tweeting that Bryant "just made discrimination a part of state law."

"Welcome to Mississippi, the hospitality state that says you're okay only if you're straight and married!" read another tweet, incorporating the hashtag "#ShameOnPhil."

Ole Miss Professsor & Journalist Joe Atkins Critiques Mississippi Republicans and it Ain't Pretty

Mississippi journalist and journalism professor at the University of Mississippi has a column posted at the Jackson Free Press.

You can read the entire column HERE.  Some of the rants and raves (mostly rants) are about:

Mississippi Republicans and Gov Phil Bryant:

• Look at Mississippi under Republican grass-eater rule in both the governor's mansion and state Legislature. A lopsided tax system that favors corporations and the rich has contributed to one of the biggest income gaps between the rich and poor of any state in the country. 

Republican House Speaker Phillip Gunn:

•  Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn's solution? Phase out the state income tax and the $1.7 billion in state revenue it provides.
  Thank goodness House Democrats killed Gunn's plan and prevented Mississippi from becoming another Kansas, where Republicans succeeded and nearly wrecked the state's budget while flat-lining its economy.

Missisippi's Prison System:

•  Corruption at the highest levels and medieval conditions within its private prisons have the system's reputation in shambles. 

Missisippi Public Schools & Funding:

•  Once again, the state Legislature ended its most recent session underfunding public schools, this time by $211 million under rules it set for itself in the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP). Initiative 42 is an effort to fix this. Quite clearly, a grass-eating core within the Republican Party wants to privatize public education. Charter schools and vouchers are merely Trojan horses in that cause. 

In the end, Atkins makes a plea for Initiative 42:

•  Mississippi voters have a chance to change things next election. Will they vote for Initiative 42 and for politicians who serve rather than oppose their interests? I'm hoping, but I'm not placing any bets.