Federal court lifts injunction on Mississippi law that protects religious liberty

A federal appeals court has lifted an injunction on a Mississippi law that protects churches and businesses from government reprisals for operating publicly based on the belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.

A three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the HB 1523, also known as Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, which was passed by the Mississippi Legislature in 2016.

The legislation seeks to protect the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman and prevents government intervention when churches and businesses operate based upon "sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."

The court ruled on Thursday that the ministers, LGBT activists and others who filed the suit did not have the standing to bring the litigation challenging the law, USA Today reported.

Critics of the measure expressed plans to file an appeal, arguing that the law allowed for sweeping discrimination against the LGBT community.

"We believe the Fifth Circuit panel is wrong and intend to seek further review, perhaps from the full Fifth Circuit and definitely from the United States Supreme Court," said Mississippi civil rights attorney Robert McDuff.

"People should not have to live through discrimination in order to challenge this obviously unconstitutional bill. Even though the injunction has been reversed for now, I am pleased that we were able to stop the bill from being implemented thus far. Hopefully, our efforts to seek further review will prevent it from going into effect in the future," he added.

The appeals court noted that under the legislation, religious organizations would be protected when they make decisions about employment, housing, placement of children in foster or adoptive homes, or the solemnization of a marriage based on their beliefs.

The bill was signed into law Gov. Phil Bryant in April 2016, but a federal district court blocked the state from enforcing it shortly thereafter.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves of Jackson argued that HB 1523 does not honor the nation's tradition of religious freedom and it does respect the equal dignity of all of Mississippi's citizens.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said that they will ask the Fifth Circuit to review the decision, or they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate Reeves' decision.

Bryant applauded Thursday's ruling, saying the legislation was not meant to discriminate against anyone, but it simply prevents governments from interfering with the "constitutional right to exercise sincerely held religious beliefs."