By a margin of 31 to 17, the Mississippi state Senate has passed the Orwellian-named "Protecting Freedom of Conscience From Government Discrimination Act."
The Republican idea of liberty does not apply equally to all people and "government discrimination" is exactly what this bill will enable.
The legislation says that businesses, social workers and public employees cannot be punished for denying services based on the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman or that "sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage." It also protects individuals who believe gender is determined at birth.
If I'm reading this right, it appears the state Senate has just voted to enable discrimination against unwed straight couples in addition to gay couples.
Even more concerning is the explicit enabling of discrimination against transgender people who already face an enormous amount of hostility in their daily lives. It's already extremely difficult for transgender people to acquire the same quality of public and privates services as others and this legislation will stack the deck even further against them.
The state House of Representatives has already passed the bill but they will have to vote on it again before it hits Governor Phil Bryant's desk for a signature. Governor Bryant has not said if he will sign the bill or not.