A Mississippi “religious freedom” bill, similar to the one vetoed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Wednesday, has had its most controversial provision stripped out by a legislative committee.
The Mississippi Business Journal reported that the language considered problematic by civil rights groups had been removed from the bill Wednesday by lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee. It would have allowed defendants in civil lawsuits to claim that their religious beliefs were being burdened.
The Mississippi Senate had passed the bill with the controversial language in January.
Business groups praised the provision’s removal, according to the Business Journal, with the president of the Mississippi Economic Council noting that it was now “not the same bill” that the Senate had passed.
