House Bill 1523 is a wide bill that “protects” people’s freedom to discriminate against queer and transgender people, as well as anyone who dares to have pre-marital sex. This also extends to adoption and foster care laws that have recently been struck down by a federal judge.
Mississippi has the highest proportion of lesbian parents raising biological, adopted or step-children in the United States. Southern values promoting family development have taken root in the hearts of queer Mississippians who can and want to raise children, but, apparently, their sex lives will inherently damage the child more than any other parents’ sexual exploits.
The bill is outright discriminatory, protecting people from punishment if they refuse to do jobs that they took freely, but I’m confused about why anyone is shocked.
In the state of Mississippi, all of these things are already occurring. People get fired for being openly queer. People are denied housing because they’d like to live with their partners whom they haven’t married. Transgender people are condemned for using the restroom of their gender, despite the fact that there is no firm data to support trans people sexually assaulting people in restrooms, and the hard data shows transgender people are significantly more likely to be sexually assaulted and harassed when using the restroom.
This law does not change the reality of Mississippi – it simply makes it formally recognized. Having legal approval of discrimination is obviously problematic and we should actively fight against it, but this doesn’t change day-to-day life here.
People are more concerned with vocalizing and discriminating against people than facing any real problems the state has. Even if this law is struck down, this behavior won’t change until we have widespread statewide legal protections.
We have a cultural problem more than a legal problem.
I don’t expect the majority of Mississippians to open their hearts and minds to LGBT issues overnight, but I do expect them to co-exist peacefully and with the respect on which the South built itself. There are super conservative Mississippians who believe in “live and let live.” There are clergy who won’t perform religious marriages, but don’t protest secular marriages. There are ways to disapprove of LGBT lifestyles and choose to not be discriminatory or cruel.
I’m not asking them to be overjoyed and thrilled about LGBT equality. I just want them to not inhibit others from living their lives.
Gov. Bryant will sign this into law. He has no incentive not to. He’s proven time and time again that he has no desire to protect all Mississippians, just those he finds acceptable. Mississippi will continue to alienate both the youth and the brilliant and diverse LGBT people in our states.
If he wants us to “Grow where we’re planted,” he needs to make sure we’re at least safe in our state.
