The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Mississippi on Monday sued the state of Mississippi over a state law that targets the LGBT community.

Mississippi's law, House Bill 1523, allows businesses to deny services to LGBT people based on their “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.”

“We're using all avenues available to us to ensure that rights are protected here in Mississippi,” the ACLU of Mississippi tweeted.

Jennifer Riley-Collins, executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi, told ABC News that the group was standing “in defense of freedom.”

Republican Governor Phil Bryant criticized the ACLU's move.

“The ACLU continues its mission of trying to use the federal court system to push its liberal agenda,” he told CBS affiliate WJTV-12. “Instead of cherry-picking causes popular with the radical left, the ACLU should allocate its resources defending all civil liberties.”

(Related: Lawyer who challenged Mississippi's gay marriage ban says new law may violate order.)