FILE -- April 1, 2016: Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, right, walks past reporters on his way to a meeting of a youth jobs program board, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a religious freedom law Tuesday that will protect people who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.
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The Religious Freedom Law will “protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions of individuals, organizations and private associations from discriminatory action by state government or its political subdivisions, which would include counties, cities, and institutions of higher learning.”
In other words, every Christian who owns a business in the state of Mississippi owes the governor a thank-you.
“This bill merely reinforces the rights which currently exist to the exercise of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Gov. Bryant wrote in a message posted on Twitter.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins praised Gov. Bryant “for standing up to the fundamental freedoms of the people they represent.”
“No person should be punished by the government with crippling fines or face disqualification for simply believing what President Obama believed just a few years ago - that marriage is the union of a man and a woman,” Perkins said.
Before the Supreme Court decided to redefine marriage President Obama assured the nation that those who opposed same-sex marriage had nothing to fear. He promised us that gay marriage would have no impact on our lives or our religion.
The president’s assurances turned out to be woefully wrong.
It has become clear in recent days that such protections are necessary. Militant LGBT activists and their supporters have waged a war on Christian business owners from coast to coast.
They’ve gone after grandmothers like Baronelle Stutzman, the owner of a Washington state flower shop who declined to participate in a gay wedding.
They’ve tried to silence and intimidate the owners of bakeries in Indiana, Colorado and Oregon.
And most recently, the LGBT mob has gone after the owners of the Timbercreek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton, Ill.
Jim and Beth Walder were fined $80,000 because they refused to hold a civil union ceremony for two homosexual men.
Thanks to Gov. Bryant, Christian business owners will be free from such bullying and intimidation.
The governor should be commended for his courage. He signed that legislation under the threat of an economic boycott.
Hollywood and Big Business are threatening to punish any states that defend the rights of Christians.
Some of the most egregious anti-Christian companies are Disney, Coca-Cola, and the National Football League.
“Big business and Hollywood have engaged in economic blackmail in Mississippi just like they have in Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas to try to force government discrimination of those who support natural marriage,” said Perkins.
The threat is real.
Oscar-winning composer Stephen Schwartz just announced he will ban North Carolina theaters or any other organizations from performing his works. His decision comes after the state banned transgender people from using the bathrooms of their choice.
Mr. Schwartz is perhaps best known for creating the Broadway show “Wicked.”
“I feel that it is very important that any state that passes such a law suffer economic and cultural consequences, partly because it is deserved and partly to discourage other states from following suit,” he wrote.
Mr. Schwartz seems to believe that any state that refuses to let a man use the bathroom with a little girl should be punished. Wicked, indeed.
Governor Bryant did his part and now we must do ours -- by standing with lawmakers and corporations who defend the First Amendment and turning our backs on businesses that are enemies of religious liberty.
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