June 23, 2017 | Sex & Society

US Federal Appeals Court okays anti-gay discrimination

Reason 500,933 to not visit Mississippi: anti-gay bigotry is currently the law of the land.

A federal appeals court overturned a lower court's ruling that had blocked Mississippi from enforcing a law that allowed individuals with strongly held religious beliefs to deny services for gays, lesbians and trans individuals.

This means a state office clerk can now refuse to sign a marriage certificate for two men or refuse to process a name change for a trans woman. It also means anyone running a business -- from a florist to a baker to a photographer -- can refuse to work with a queer person if doing so conflicts with their faith.

US District Judge Carlton Reeves had ruled that the law unconstitutionally establishes preferred beliefs and creates unequal treatment for LGBT people. However, the higher court claimed that members of the LGBT community were not subject to imminent discrimination. The three-judge panel also argued that the plaintiffs in the case had no standing as the law, having been blocked, has yet to produce a single provable case of discrimination.

Robert McDuff, an attorney in the case, said the next step will be to ask the 5th Circuit to reconsider the panel's decision or request the US Supreme Court block the law.

What's next? A return to Jim Crow laws?