dailycaller
Joshua Gill
5:29 PM 06/23/2017
[excerpt]
http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/23/federal-court-upholds-law-allowing-refusal-of-service-to-lgbt-couples/A law allowing business owner to deny service to LGBT couples was ruled enforceable in Mississippi by a federal court Thursday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th circuit struck down a district court’s injunction against the law, which now allows business owners to refuse to serve gay, lesbian, or transgender couples on grounds of religious objection and also permits clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to LGBT couples.
Foster care and adoption agencies can also choose to reject potential LGBT parents under this law, according to an AP report.
The court’s decision is a big win for the protection of religious liberties, according to Kevin Theriot, attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which helped write the bill.
“The sole purpose of this law is to ensure that Mississippians don’t live in fear of losing their careers or their businesses simply for affirming marriage as a husband-wife union,” Theriot said. “Those who filed suit have not and will not be harmed but want to restrict freedom and impose their beliefs on others by ensuring dissenters are left open to the government discrimination that has already occurred in states without protective laws like this one.”
