Civil rights groups mobilize against Mississippi's 'religious freedom' law

WASHINGTON – Civil rights groups and gay rights advocates in Mississippi are coordinating with national organizations to challenge the state’s new “religious freedom’’ law.

“There’s a lot of national interest,’’ said Erik Fleming, director of advocacy and policy for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Mississippi. “I hate that Mississippi is getting negative press because Mississippi has always had a lot of negative press based on actions of our elected leaders. But if we can garner victory out of this, regardless of what level … it sends a positive message, not only for Mississippi, but the nation, as to which direction we need to be going in order for us to co-exist.’’

At issue is the controversial Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, which Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed Tuesday. The law allows denial of certain services to the LGBT community based on any of three religious beliefs — that marriage is between a man and a woman, that sex is proper only within such a marriage, and that people are male or female based on their genetics and anatomy at birth.

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Supporters of the law say it protects religious rights.

“It simply protects the rights of Americans, and in this case Mississippians, to not be persecuted by the government for their beliefs,’’ said Quena González, director of state and local affairs for the Family Research Council,  a Washington-based group that campaigns against gay marriage among other social issues.

Critics say the law sanctions discrimination.

“This bill is the broadest discrimination bill that we’ve seen passed,’’ said Victoria Kirby York, director of national campaigns for the National LGBTQ Task Force . "It’s a dangerous slippery slope and one that Mississippi with its history should know better.''

The task force is urging members to call and write letters to Mississippi lawmakers and use social media, including action alerts, to demand repeal of the law.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is among national groups vowing to help Mississippi groups challenge the law —and to help groups fighting similar laws in other states.

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“They’re popping up everywhere. We’re playing Whac-A-Mole,’’ said Scott Simpson, a spokesman for the conference. “These are the same arguments that folks used to fight desegregation. These are the same arguments that were used for people to oppose interracial marriage. There’s no place for them to be used against the LGBT community either.’’

Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP, said state civil rights and social justice groups have met regularly over the law and other issues that he said roll back civil rights protections for Mississippians.

“This has been one of the most reactionary legislative sessions in a very long time in Mississippi,'' he said.

Fleming said civil rights groups willpressure Bryant to call state lawmakers into special session to consider repealing the law. He acknowledges that’s highly unlikely.

“But we’ve got to exhaust every opportunity we can to try to keep this bill from going into effect July 1,’’ he said.

The Human Rights Campaign has launched an online petition and urged supporters to call and write Bryant.

Some major corporations, including General Electric, have also called on Bryant to repeal the law, and a handful of state and city officials around the country have banned workers from doing official business in Mississippi.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Mississippi's law violates federal civil rights statutes.

“Simply put, this is government-sanctioned discrimination,’’ Thompson wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Mississippi groups are considering possible legal action, but González of the Family Research Council questioned the merits of that strategy. He also said the council is urging pastors to write Mississippi state lawmakers expressing support for the new law.

“I think lawmakers and policymakers in Mississippi have the good sense to protect people’s consciences and move on,’’ he said.  “The threats that we’re seeing, especially from corporate bullies, are not only hypocritical but empty.’’

Fleming at the Mississippi ACLU said civil rights groups teamed up earlier to push a Mississippi bill that would have provided more protections against discrimination, but the measure failed. He said that same coalition, along with national groups, aim to repeal the religious freedom bill.

“We’re trying to get our best and our brightest to look at the bill and figure out what our strategy is going to be,’’ he said.

Contributing: Bracey Harris, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger.

Contact Deborah Barfield Berry at dberry@gannett.com. Twitter: @dberrygannett