JACKSON,
Miss. (AP) -- Mississippi clerks cannot cite their own religious
beliefs to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex
couples, under a ruling a federal judge handed down Monday.
The
effect of the ruling by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves is that the
state can't enforce part of a religious objections bill that was
supposed to become law Friday.
Reeves is
extending his previous order that overturned Mississippi's ban on
same-sex marriage. He says circuit clerks are required to provide equal
treatment for all couples, gay or straight. He also said that all 82
circuit clerks must be given formal notice of that requirement.
Mississippi's religious objections measure, House Bill 1523
, was filed in response to last summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that
legalized gay marriage nationwide. That ruling is called the Obergefell
case, after the man who filed it.
"Mississippi's
elected officials may disagree with Obergefell, of course, and may
express that disagreement as they see fit - by advocating for a
constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, for example," Reeves
wrote Monday. "But the marriage license issue will not be adjudicated
anew after every legislative session."
Attorneys
were still waiting on rulings from Reeves in two other lawsuits that
seek to block all of the religious objections law, including provisions
that could affect schools' bathroom policies for transgender students.
Roberta
Kaplan, a New York-based attorney, represents Campaign for Southern
Equality in two lawsuits challenging House Bill 1523, including the one
on which Reeves ruled Monday. She issued a statement praising his
decision.
"A year after the Supreme Court
guaranteed marriage equality in the Obergefell decision, we are
delighted that Judge Reeves reaffirmed the power of federal courts to
definitively say what the United States Constitution means," Kaplan
said.
Attorneys for Republican Gov. Phil Bryant and Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood have defended House Bill 1523 in court.
"Our attorneys received the order late this afternoon and are reviewing it," Bryant spokesman Clay Chandler said Monday.
Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves criticized the decision of Judge Reeves, who is no relation.
"If
this opinion by the federal court denies even one Mississippian of
their fundamental right to practice their religion, then all
Mississippians are denied their 1st Amendment rights," Tate Reeves said
in a statement.
"I hope the state's attorneys will quickly appeal this
decision to the 5th Circuit to protect the deeply held religious beliefs
of all Mississippians."
