In Mississippi: Federal Judge says NO to Anti-LGBT Law During Appeal

In April, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed HB 1523 into law. It was considered a huge anti-LGBT law with religious freedom mess tied to it. Well, by July 1, US District Judge Carlton Reeves struck it down.

Bryant tried to request a stay, but yesterday, Reeves denied it. He stated:

“[I]ssuing a marriage license to a gay couple is not like being forced into armed combat or to assist with an abortion. Matters of life and death are sui generis. If movants truly believe that providing services to LGBT citizens forces them to ‘tinker with the machinery of death,’ their animus exceeds anything seen in Romer, Windsor, or the marriage equality cases.”

Poor Gov. Bryant tried it

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Judge guts a pivotal part of Mississippi's HB 1523

Good news from the South.

A federal judge  in Mississippi snatches out a silly piece of Mississippi’s HB 1523. Judge Carlton Reeves ruled that county clerks cannot cite their raggedy religious beliefs as a valid legal reason to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Here's more

Reeves is extending his previous order that overturned Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage. He says circuit clerks are required to provide equal treatment for all couples, gay or straight.

Mississippi's religious objections measure, House Bill 1523, was filed in response to last summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide. That ruling is called the Obergefell case, after the man who filed it.

"Mississippi's elected officials may disagree with Obergefell, of course, and may express that disagreement as they see fit — by advocating for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, for example," Reeves wrote Monday. "But the marriage license issue will not be adjudicated anew after every legislative session."

Attorneys were still waiting on rulings from Reeves in two other lawsuits seeking to block all of the religious objections law, including provisions that could affect schools' bathroom policies for transgender students.

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President Obama thinks the Anti-LGBT laws are wrong and should be overturned.

President Obama touched on the Anti-LGBT laws in Mississippi and North Carolina in a press conference with UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

President Obama said:

"I think that the laws that have been passed there are wrong and should be overturned and they're in response to politics in part and some strong emotions that are generated by people. The U.S. is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country," the warning reads. "LGBT travelers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi."

Watch

Pres. Obama says he thinks 'anti-LGBT' laws passed in NC and MS "are wrong and should be overturned." https://t.co/zOGCqrq8nJ

— ABC News (@ABC) April 22, 2016

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signs Anti-LGBT Bill HB 1523 into Law

I have signed House Bill 1523. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/00DbgQADFt

— Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) April 5, 2016

Mississippi Lawmakers pass Anti-LGBT Bill, Heads to Governor

Lawmakers in Mississippi has passed the anti-gay HB 1523. This bill falls in line with the other fake religious liberty bills.

HB 1523 would give individuals, religious organizations and private groups the right to use religion to discriminate against us at work, schools, and any business.

The bill passed with a 70-47 vote. It's heading to Gov. Bryant. I hope he drops this.

Mississippi House Panel moves Anti-LGBT Bill forward

The South just keeps on serving up these discrimination bills.

In Mississippi, House Speaker Philip Gunn presented a religious liberty bill that is pure Anti-LGBT legislation. It's called the “Religious Liberty Accommodations Act,” or H.B. 1523.

In this messy bill, someone/business/whatever could use religion to justify their discrimination not only to us in the LGBT community, but to unwed mothers, veterans and others. Under this bill, faith-based organizations could openly deny us of everything. Adoption, schools, homes, business regardless if the organization or business receive government funding.

H.B. 1523 would also give foster families the power to force a queer kid to conversion therapy, and deny trans people access to facilities, that matches their gender identity. Sadly, that's not all. There's more to this heinous bill.

The House Judicial Committee received H.B. 1523 due a 14-3 vote. I hope it dies, but then again... It's Mississippi.

If you're curious about what's in the bill, read it here

Report: 5th Circuit Court are poised to Overturn Marriage Bans

Yesterday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard 3 hours of hearings about the same-sex bans in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

Word has it that the 5th Circuit Court are set to strike down the bans! Here's more from Buzzfeed:

More than halfway through the morning’s arguments, an exasperated Justin Matheny, the assistant attorney general in Mississippi charged with defending the state’s ban, tried to change his tune during his rebuttal arguments. 

It being clear that the three-judge panel was leaning against upholding the bans, Matheny told the judges that although the “trajectory” on marriage rights for same-sex couples is “undeniable,” he argued that “it’s not there yet.” Judge Patrick Higginbotham, born in Alabama almost eight decades ago and appointed to the appeals court by President Reagan more than three decades ago, spoke up. And though the older judge was hard to hear at times, he spoke up and spoke clearly when he responded to Matheny: “Those words, ‘Will Mississippi change its mind?’ have resonated in these halls before.”

This is getting good.

Mississippi's Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down

Last night, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves struck down Mississippi’s marriage ban on same-sex couples, however the decision has been put on hold for two weeks.

Buzzfeed reports:

“Today’s decision may cause uneasiness and concern about the change it will bring,” U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves wrote. “Mississippi continues to change in ways its people could not anticipate even 10 years ago. Allowing same-sex couples to marry, however, presents no harm to anyone. At the very least, it has the potential to support families and provide stability for children.”

In the 72-page ruling, Reeves found that “[g]ay and lesbian persons are full citizens that share the same rights as other citizens, including the right to marry.”

The case was brought by same-sex couples seeking marriage and marriage recognition, as well as the Campaign for Southern Equality, and the parties are represented by Roberta Kaplan of Paul Weiss — the lawyer who represented Edie Windsor in her challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act.

Arkansas dropped their ban as well. The South is moving forward!

Read the ruling here

New Trailer for the documentary, “Mississippi I Am"

Interesting Quote: Tony Perkins

"I was honored to attend today's signing of Mississippi's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and have the opportunity to personally thank Governor Bryant, and the legislators who have stood up to protect religious liberty as 18 other states have already done. This law prevents the government from discriminating against religion.

Unfortunately, too often in today's political world, courage is in short supply. Those who understand the importance and cherish the historic understanding of religious freedom are grateful for leaders who respond to fact and not fictitious claims of those who are trying to quarantine faith within the walls of our churches or homes. Some things are worth standing and contending for, and at the top of that list is our First Freedom, the freedom of religion.

We applaud Governor Phil Bryant, Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, House Speaker Philip Gunn, Senator Phillip Gandy, and Rep. Andy Gipson for their leadership in defending religious freedom and for refusing to cower to egregious misrepresentations of a fair and reasonable religious liberty measure."

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Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signs the 'Religious Freedom' Bill

Well he did it!

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed the 'Religious Freedom' bill. So now, people and places can discriminate against anyone in the name of God or some other religious deny. This will not bode will for the southern state as this law reminds some of the Jim Crow laws.

Mess, I tell you. Pure mess.

This foolishness becomes law on July 1.







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Mississippi Lawmakers passes the "Religious Freedom" bill

Southern foolishness!

Mississippi lawmakers has rushed their version of the religious freedom bill, without some of the language of the Arizona version. However, it's still the same thing. It's like if you put a tramp in clean clothes, he's still a tramp!

Anyway, this bill will to make it legal for businesses to discriminate against customers based on their religious beliefs. Apparently, these Senate and House members didn't get the memo. This bill will complete bring financial hell down on them and a lot of scrutiny from the rest of the nation.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant is expected to sign this bill, but I hope he sleeps on it. He can't be that stupid...

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Gay couples file for marriage licenses in Jackson, Mississippi - VIDEO

The Daily Show: Will Alabama or Mississippi be the Last States to have Marriage Equality?

Ole Miss Football Players & Students hurl Gay Slurs during a production of 'The Laramie Project'

WTF?!

At the University of Mississippi, some ignorant Ole Miss football players and some other students disrupted a local production of "The Laramie Project"

According to some of the audience members, these jackoffs spewed a bunch of gay slurs to the cast.

The school's athletic department issued a formal apology for the outburst and the Dean of Students wasn't happy about the matter. But I feel that's not enough. Those foolish individuals should be brought to a campus judicial hearing and given disciplinary action. Better yet, there should be a student-led forum discussing discrimination and hate speech.

Those idiots' actions caused a lot of uncertainty in the safety of the gay students at that university and they should answer for their foolishness. And as for the university... They need to do better with the follow up.

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Mississippi Woman Denied Business License for Gay Bar, SPLC files a Federal Lawsuit

This is a video of Pat Newton, a lesbian, who wants her gay bar to be legit in the town of Shannon, Miss. When she applied for her business license, it was instantly denied. The SPLC were notified and now, they have filed a federal lawsuit against the town, the mayor, and the aldermen.

The complaint notes how their actions are discriminatory towards Pat and the 14th Amendments.

I wish her the best in this battle and I hope the townsfolk are not complete assholes about this.

Marco McMillian's Family asks for the Justice Department to assist in the Investigation

The autopsy of Mississippi mayoral candidate Marco McMillian has led to more questions. His family doesn't think enough is being done, so they held a press conference hoping for the Justice Department to get involved

No Mention of Marco McMillian's life as a Gay Man at Funeral

Marco McMillian's funeral was this past Saturday. While many gathered to say goodbye to him, no one talked about or mentioned his gay life. In fact, no one spoke... There was nothing but silence.

Janell Ross at HuffPo reports:

At the end of a long center aisle sat a slate blue casket. The swollen, partially charred body of her only son, Marco McMillian, lay inside, obscured by a gauzy white veil. She nearly fainted and did not speak. 

Instead, between a gospel choir’s offerings, national and local dignitaries drew attention to McMillian’s drive, talent and intellect. McMillian’s own family, friends and fraternity returned again and again to McMillian’s decision to move back to his small Mississippi hometown and run for mayor, his high-wattage smile, his fondness for debate and habit of referring to family and friends as “my love.” But not one person spoke into a microphone Saturday about the precedent McMillian had already set before he died.

And...

It’s difficult to parse what portion of the silence around the precedent-setting nature of McMillian’s campaign or even the much-debated cause of his death should be attributed to homophobia in Clarksdale, an overwhelmingly black Delta community of 18,000. In much of the Deep South, mores limit public discussions of sex and sexuality. And almost nowhere in the country would a collection of bereaved family and friends deviate from the standard script of life accomplishments, endearing quirks and good deeds at a funeral.

It hurts to hear that this part of his life was closed and not mentioned. Whether they like it or not, Marco was gay and out. He was free and true to himself, they can't hide it or deny it. His friends and family should do him justice and acknowledge all the pieces in his life.

Marco McMillian's killer claims that he was Defending himself

This Marco McMillian case is getting out of hand.

Here is more info about what supposedly happened from the alleged killer, Lawrence Reed:

The sisters who live in the home say Reed stopped by their house just before he crashed McMillian's truck, and ended up in the hospital. "He was supposed to have taken him to a party in Marks, but you know, they didn't ever make it," one sister says.

Clarksdale is a small town with a lot of talk. The sisters asked to not be identified because of what they call, "small town politics."

In Clarskdale, everyone's taking a side. Reed's roommate, Kamillia Evans, told abc24.com just days after the murder, "If he did do it he was defending himself."

Lamar Kearney is a Clarksdale resident who doesn't believe the claim, "That don't sound like self defense to me."

However, the sisters say Reed told them everything. Just after midnight on February 26, their youngest sister received a panicked call from Reed. One sister says, "He called at 12:11am and he told her that the dude (McMillian) was trying to rape him. He was exposing himself to him, playing with himself, telling him to do things and then he'll take him home."

He told the girl he was on a back road and couldn't get away. A few minutes later a bruised, bloody and broken Reed showed up at their back porch. "He just looked like he had been through war..." one sister describes, "He was standing in the back, back here, telling God to forgive him. He didn't mean to do it, and he was saying that he just wanted to die."

She says when Reed couldn't get away from McMillian, he used the chain on his wallet to choke the 200 pound politician. "He was shaking real hard, he was crying real hard, he was circling, begging for somebody to talk to him."

The sisters say Reed was inconsolable and, they believe, suicidal. "When he left out, he just drove out, sped up and hit a white truck head on."

What is really going on?

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Mississippi Congressman wants FBI to Review Marco McMillian’s Death

A Mississippi congressman Bennie Thompson asked the FBI to look into the murder of the openly gay mayoral candidate Marco McMillian. There is belief that some federal laws could have been violated.

Here's more:

Thompson, a Democrat, said Tuesday that he has confidence in the sheriff investigating the death but that he wants the FBI to get involved because that’s what McMillian’s family wants.

"If another set of eyes looking at it would provide additional information, I think it would be helpful to the McMillian family," Thompson told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Also...

Mississippi’s hate crimes law covers acts motivated by bias against a victim’s race but not sexual orientation. However, a federal hate crimes law covers bias against sexual orientation. Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the FBI could determine if a hate crimes charge should be considered.

I don't care who says what, this is a hate crime. Marco's death is a hate crime. Pure and simple.