A federal judge on Friday struck down a Mississippi law that would have given businesses a right to deny services on the bases of religious belief.
U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that the law, H.B. 1523, would “diminish the rights of LGBT citizens.”
{mosads}”The state has put its thumb on the scale to favor some religious beliefs over others,” the judge said, according to CNN.
“HB 1523 does not advance the interest the State says it does. Under the guise of providing additional protection for religious exercise, it creates a vehicle for state-sanctioned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It is not rationally related to a legitimate end.”
The law was set to go into effect Friday. State attorneys are expected to appeal the court’s ruling, according to The Associated Press.
The law would have protected clerks who wanted to recuse themselves from giving marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as well as merchants who wanted to refuse services to LGBT people.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) said Friday he disagreed with the court’s ruling.
“Like I said when I signed House Bill 1523, the law simply provides religious accommodations granted by many other states and federal law,” Bryant said in a statement.
“I am disappointed Judge Reeves did not recognize that reality. I look forward to an aggressive appeal.”
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