The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has denied the request for a rehearing with the full panel of the Fifth Circuit to plaintiffs in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant III, which challenged the passage of HB 1523 in Mississippi.
HB 1523, the nation’s most sweeping anti-LGBT law, will now go into effect across Mississippi on October 10th. HB 1523 authorizes Mississippi officials and service providers, such as doctors and store owners, to recuse themselves from serving LGBT individuals on the basis of three specific religious beliefs about gay marriage, transgender individuals, and sex before marriage.
“HB 1523 is a reckless law that discriminates against and hurts the LGBT community. We have fought this law from day one and will continue to do so with every tool available to us. If folks encounter discrimination, we have set up a hotline to report it and access legal and support services,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE).
At the District Court, Judge Reeves ruled that HB 1523 unconstitutionally privileges citizens with three specific religious beliefs in violation of the First Amendment. The Fifth Circuit’s ruling, limited to standing, did not address the constitutionality of the statute. As a result, Campaign for Southern Equality will be returning to the district court immediately to do everything in our power to make sure that this unconstitutional statute is in effect for as short a time as possible.
People who experience discrimination are encouraged to report it to CSE by calling our hotline (828.242.1559), by email (info@southernequality.org) or by posting at our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/southernequality.
“It’s important to remember that the Fifth Circuit’s decision, while deeply disappointing, was limited to the question whether we had sufficiently alleged standing under the Establishment Clause. The only court decision on the merits is the decision of Judge Reeves at the district court, which held HB 1523 to be unconstitutional, which it clearly is. So stay tuned. Rest assured that we will do everything humanly possible to continue to fight this harmful law on the merits in order to protect our nation’s
constitutional values and the LGBT citizens of Mississippi,” says Roberta Kaplan, lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant III.
Mississippi is home to 60,000 LGBT adults and an estimated 11,400 transgender youth and adults, according to 2016 data published by the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law. The state is also home to 3,500 same-sex couples, 29 percent of whom are raising children—the highest rate in the nation.
