23 February 2016

Southern States Fighting Back Against Gays

Southern States
The noose is tightening as more and more American states are moving to defend their right against the oppressive homofacism.

There are now four additional states that moved for the passage of legislation that protects businesses, officials, and organizations who refuse to serve gay couples. In Kentucky, lawmakers pushed to create separate marriage licenses for gay and straight weddings.

Citing religious liberty, lawmakers in Virginia, Georgia, and Mississippi approved bills that they say offers equal protection for same-sex marriage opponents and supporters alike. These are states where there is far less public support for the Supreme Court's June 2015 effective legalization of gay marriage than polls show nationwide.

Even if the silent majority in the United States do not support the right to gay marriage, Southern states, in particular, is not timid in showing the world that it is ready to walk the talk. In Mississippi, for example, support for gay marriage is the lowest in the country, only 25 percent support it, and just 54 percent believe it should be illegal to discriminate against gay individuals, according to polls by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

That difference is playing out as Southern states respond to the Supreme Court's gay marriage decision – possibly leading to fresh tensions between state and federal discrimination laws.

A few days ago, Mississippi's House voted 80-39 to pass a bill protecting state officials, faith leaders, and religious organizations who act on their beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman, that sex is only acceptable between husband and wife, and that gender is established at birth.

The protections would include circuit clerks and judges, as well as employment decisions, such as firing an employee whose actions are considered out of line with a religious organization's views. The bill is now being held for further debate before going to the state Senate.

Similar legislation passed in the Georgia Senate, after businesses' said that such legislation will encourage more tourist in the area. Under the Georgia bill, however, government employees could not refuse to perform their jobs, such as signing marriage licenses. The bill will now go to the state House of Representatives.

Many advocates defend the laws as necessary to legally protect people whose religious beliefs oppose gay marriage, while still upholding its legality.

"We are not picking sides," said state Sen. Greg Kirk, a Republican. "This bill does not favor one viewpoint over others, which is exactly how government should act with regard to religious beliefs."

Virginia's House of Delegates passed yet another similar bill last week, including the provisions for those who oppose pre-marital sex or transgender customers, although Gov.Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, has vowed to veto the law if it reaches his desk. Under the bill, organizations or individuals who refuse to serve gay, transgender, or unmarried couples would not risk losing state accreditation, tax benefits, or their jobs. Exceptions are made for hospitals, who cannot deny emergency treatment.

In Kentucky, where county clerk Kim Davis' refusal to issue marriage licenses intensified national debate this past fall, state senators approved a bill to provide separate licenses for gay and straight couples. One would refer to the "bride" and "groom," after lawmakers pushed back against "first party" and "second party." It will now go to the state House of Representatives.

From state to state, conservative lawmakers claim their religious beliefs against gay marriage face discrimination, not gay couples themselves.