The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday over a Mississippi law that would allow government officials to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a law it says infringes on the rights of LGBT individuals in the state and violates the 14th Amendment.
The ACLU is asking for an injunction to keep the law from going into effect in July.
The lawsuit is being brought by the ACLU against Mississippi’s registrar of vital records on behalf of Nykolas Alford and Stephen Thomas, a gay engaged couple in the state, who claim they will be discriminated against because of HB 1523. According to the complaint, Mississippi’s law –specifically the ability for public officials not to issue marriage licenses–would subject same-sex couples to “separate and unequal set of rules that do not apply to different-sex couples.”
The law also allows business owners to refuse service to LGBT individuals if they believe it violates their religious beliefs. The complaint was brought in the United States District Court Southern District of Mississippi.
“On its face, HB 1523 violates the Fourteenth Amendment by subjecting the lawful marriages of same-sex couples to different terms and conditions than those accorded to different-sex couples. By creating a separate and unequal set of laws applying only to the marriages of same-sex couples, HB 1523 imposes a disadvantage, a separate status, and so a stigma upon all married same-sex couples in Mississippi,” the complaint reads.
The so-called religious freedom bill passed Mississippi’s House and Senate in March and has been a top concern for LGBT advocates.
“The ACLU stands firmly against discrimination in all forms,” said ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jennifer Riley-Collins said in a press release. All citizens deserve the right to be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Read the full complaint below:
