Mississippi Same-Sex Marriage Case Moving Ahead with HB 1523 Now Law
JACKSON — Legal challenges to the anti-LGBT House Bill 1523 will continue, as U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves has lifted the stay on the 2014 lawsuit that sought to force the State of Mississippi to recognize same-sex marriages and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Plaintiffs in the 2014 Campaign for Southern Equality v. Phil Bryant et al case took issue with the section of HB 1523 that allows state government officials, including circuit clerks, to "seek recusal from authorizing or licensing lawful marriages based upon or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction described in Section 2 of this act."
HB 1523 protects the "sincerely held" religious beliefs or moral convictions" that marriage is between "one man and one woman;" sexual relations are reserved for such a marriage; and sex is determined "by anatomy and genetics at time of birth."
Circuit clerks looking to recuse from issuing same-sex marriage licenses are supposed to provide written notice to the State Registrar of Vital Records. Plaintiffs in the CSE v. Bryant 2014 case, represented by Roberta Kaplan, argued that this section of HB 1523 warranted re-opening of the case in 2016.
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2017/oct/30/mississippi-same-sex-marriage-case-moving-ahead-hb/