{"id":60891,"date":"2018-01-08T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2018-01-08T17:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-challenge-to-mississippi-anti-lgbtq-law\/"},"modified":"2018-01-08T12:00:40","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T17:00:40","slug":"supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-challenge-to-mississippi-anti-lgbtq-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-challenge-to-mississippi-anti-lgbtq-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to Mississippi anti-LGBTQ law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to Mississippi anti-LGBTQ law<\/b><\/p>\n

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HB 1523 allows individuals, businesses, and religious-affiliated organizations to openly discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community<\/em><\/p>\n

NEW YORK – <\/strong>GLAAD, the world\u2019s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today released a statement after the Supreme Court of the United States refused<\/a> to hear a challenge to Mississippi\u2019s HB 1523, which grants Mississippians the ability to use religious exemptions to deny LGBTQ people employment, housing, adoption rights, marriage licenses, and even services at a local business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis latest punt on LGBTQ rights by the nation\u2019s highest court promotes state-stationed discrimination by upholding a law that allows hotels, ER doctors, business owners, and even pediatricians to legally deny services to hardworking LGBTQ families in Mississippi,\u201d said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD<\/strong>. \u201cWhile freedom of religion is a fundamental right, it should never give people the right to impose their belief on others and openly discriminate against others in the name of religious exemptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

HB 1523 is in direct contradiction to a\u00a0recent study<\/a>\u00a0by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) which showed that a majority of Americans\u00a0oppose<\/em>\u00a0anti-LGBTQ \u201creligious exemption\u201d laws. PRRI also found that 72% of Americans support laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. This includes six out of ten (60%) Republicans and 81% of Democrats.<\/p>\n

Since the HB 1523 debate began, GLAAD has been on the ground in Mississippi working with local organizations like the\u00a0Mississippi Gulf Coast Rainbow Center<\/a>, the Spectrum Center<\/a>, and Joshua Generation MCC<\/a> to help accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ people in the state and protect them from discrimination. From launching a #MyMississippi<\/a> campaign, a campaign geared to amplify voices of LGBTQ Mississippians; releasing a media resource guide<\/a> on LGBTQ people living in the state; to co-hosting a United Against Hate rally against HB 1523 last December<\/a>; GLAAD has been with LGBTQ Mississippians to fight back against this discriminatory \u201creligious exemptions\u201d agenda and will continue to complement and amplify their efforts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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January 8, 2018<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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