Mississippi governor signs law allowing service denial to gays

Mississippi’s governor signed a law Tuesday that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples based on religious beliefs.

“This bill merely reinforces the rights which currently exist to the exercise of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the Republican governor wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account.

The measure allows churches, religious charities and privately held businesses to decline services to people whose lifestyles violate their religious beliefs.

Local communities can make the “necessary restroom and locker room accommodations that serve the best interests of all students, regardless of biological sex or gender identity,” Daugaard said.

“This bill flies in the face of the basic American principles of fairness, justice and equality and will not protect anyone’s religious liberty,” Jennifer Riley-Collins, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, said in a statement.