When House Bill 1523, or the "religious freedom bill," passed in Mississippi, I felt that more people were against it than for it. This bill basically says that business owners can indeed turn down any customer and use the excuse that the customer's "lifestyle" is against the owner's religious beliefs. This bill is mostly for the benefit of Christianity.
While some of my Facebook friends are for it, people have been pulling out of filming movies and banning travel to my state since Governor Phil Bryant passed this. Most of the focus has been on the LGBT+ community and how this affects them, but I want to list everyone that this affects because many people aren't thinking past their privilege and religion.
1. The LGBT+ Community
If someone who is homosexual walks into a wedding planning business and asks for help with his/her wedding, the planner can turn down the customer because homosexuality is against the Bible and their religious beliefs. If I walk into this business, the owner could turn me down for having short hair and assuming I am a homosexual.
2. Immigrants
My partner is an immigrant, and I worry about this group of people every morning when I wake up. If my partner goes into a privately owned business for any reason, he can be turned down for having a foreign name or being brown. Most people from his country are Hindu, but looking at someone, you can't nearly tell that. He does not actively follow Hinduism. They would still turn him away for "not looking Christian." This is the same for Hispanics, Latinos, Asians, etc.
3. Women/Single Mothers
Premarital sex is an abomination according to the Bible. If a single mother comes in needing a service for her children, she could be turned down due to the fact that she is unmarried. Additionally, if a woman miscarries and is prescribed a medication to induce an abortion instead of delivering in a more complicated way, a pharmacist can choose to not fill that prescription. Even if it's in the best interest of the woman, the pharmacist can still decline.
4. The Transgender Community
This bill also says that transgender men and women must use the restroom of their biological sex, completely ignoring who they truly are.
5. Interracial Couples
In the 1960s, people in Mississippi were so racist that they believed blacks and whites marrying was against their religion. I know that many people in my state still believe this to be true. Recently, an interracial couple was kicked out of an RV park because the husband was African-American. Going along with this, if my partner and I wanted to get married and if we are different religions, we could be turned down because marrying someone of another religion is against the beliefs of Christians.
As you can see, this bill affects everyone except white, straight, cis-gendered Christians.
Now let's flip the page a bit.
Imagine if a white woman walked into a gas station to do something as innocent as fill up her tank, and she told told her business was unwanted because the owner believed all women should wear hijabs. Or what if a Christian family was turned down from staying at a hotel because the owners were Indian? I think a lot of things would change if the lawmakers could see themselves being openly discriminated against.
All it takes is immigrants and the LGBT+ community standing their ground and denying people business. Then, everyone will realize what this bill is doing to our state.
Some believe this is a great thing, because now they don't have to do anything against their values and beliefs. But in reality, all of us on the outside are terrified of the misuse and future issues this bill will create.
