Locals react to new Mississippi “religious freedom” law

Mississippi’s governor signed a “religious freedom” law Tuesday and it has sparked a lot of backlash.

The law allows businesses, landlords, medical professionals and other groups to discriminate against gay and transgender people, without consequences from the government. The new law is scheduled to take effect in July.

The law has been called the “Magnolia State’s badge of shame,” and many think it went too far.

Local LGBT advocacy groups said that even though Mississippi is close to 2,000 miles from Idaho, its effects could spread throughout the entire U.S.

“I think it’s absolutely the wrong decision,” said Kevin Lish, the board chair of All Under One Roof, a Pocatello LGBT advocacy group.

That it was the wrong decision seems to be the majority opinion of Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s decision to legally allow businesses and others to discriminate against gays.

The law allows LGBT community members to be refused service, housing and even jobs because of their sexual orientation.

Though the Mississippi law seems to have gone the furthest, it’s not the only state to pass discrimination laws.

Lish said he worries this new law will only push others to follow suit.

“From what I understand, there are 26 pieces of either legislation or ballot initiatives just waiting for November that deal with this very thing,” said Lish. “I really hope that this does not come to Idaho.”

Lish said he’s also worried that this will only encourage more forms of discrimination against others.

“I think discrimination is a slippery slope and once you start down it, if it’s easy to discriminate against the LGBT community, it makes it that much easier to discriminate against anyone you don’t like,” said Lish.

So what about Pocatello?

It’s one of only seven cities in Idaho with an anti-discrimination ordinance currently in place. But that still wouldn’t matter if Idaho were to do what Mississippi did.

“I think that we still need to be on the watch for things like this because there were anti-discrimination ordinances in these communities and they were just completely wiped out, so we need to be very wary of that happening in our community as well,” said Joseph Crupper, president of ISU’s Sexual and Gender Alliance.

Lish said that even if you’re not part of the LGBT community, there’s still a message to be taken from this.

“You may not always be in the majority you think you are and maybe one day they’ll come after you,” said Lish.

Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana are some of the other states that have also passed similar laws allowing discrimination.