Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood,
a Democrat, has criticized Republican arguments used to pass a law
that protects opponents of marriage rights for gay and lesbian
couples.
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the
law from taking effect on Friday.
(Related: Federal
judge blocks Mississippi's anti-gay law from taking effect.)
“I can’t pick my clients, but I can
speak for myself as a named defendant in this lawsuit. The fact is
that the churchgoing public was duped into believing that HB1523
protected religious freedoms,” Hood
said in a statement. “Our state leaders attempted to mislead
pastors into believing that if this bill were not passed, they would
have to preside over gay wedding ceremonies. No court case has ever
said a pastor did not have discretion to refuse to marry any couple
for any reason. I hate to see politicians continue to prey on people
who pray, go to church, follow the law and help their fellow man.”
Mississippi's Protecting Freedom of
Conscience from Government Discrimination Act (House Bill 1523)
allows businesses to deny services to LGBT people based on their
“sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions,” protects
clergy from being forced to marry gay couples and states that gender
is determined at birth.
Hood called the judge's ruling
“straightforward and clear.” He also refused to say whether his
office would file an appeal in the case and suggested that the money
used on an appeal was better spent elsewhere.
“Even if we won and the injunction
were set aside on appeal, the case would be remanded and proceed to
trial over about two years,” Hood said. “Because of the huge tax
breaks handed out to big corporations by these same leaders, the
state is throwing mentally ill patients out on the street. This is
hardly protecting the least among us as Jesus directed.”