Federal judge blocks Mississippi law protecting gay-marriage bias based on religious beliefs

From the ABA Journal:

A federal judge has blocked a Mississippi law that protects those who discriminate based on a religious belief against gay marriage, premarital sex and transgender recognition.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves of Jackson, Mississippi, issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday that blocks the law, known as HB 1523, report the New York Times, the Washington Post and theClarion-Ledger.

Reeves said the law violates the establishment clause because it has “put its thumb on the scale to favor some religious beliefs over others.” The law also violates the equal protection clause, he said, because it authorizes arbitrary discrimination against lesbian, gay, transgender and unmarried persons.

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