Jackson Free Press

Gov. Phil Bryant has signed House Bill 1523 into law. He made the announcement on Twitter this morning.

His full statement is available on his Twitter feed and reproduced in full below:

"I am signing HB 1523 into law to 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. This bill merely reinforces the rights which currently exist to the exercise of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

This bill does not limit any constitutionally protected rights or actions of any citizen of this state under federal or state laws. It does not attempt to challenge federal laws, even those which are in conflict with the Mississippi Constitution, as the Legislature recognizes the prominence of federal law in such limited circumstances.

The legislation is designed in the most targeted manner possible to prevent government interference in the lives of the people from which all power to the state is derived."

For more coverage on this bill visit jacksonfreepress.com/lgbt.

The Human Rights Campaign this evening announced in a release that the Mississippi Manufacturers Association—a frequent contributor to conservative candidates and supporter of "pro-business" legislation in Mississippi—is calling on Governor Phil Bryant to veto HB 1523, which has passed both houses and awaits the Governor's response.

Lance Bass, the Mississippi-born pop-singer, actor and producer who rose to fame as a member of NSYNC has joined actress Mary Elizabeth Ellis to encourage Governor Phil Bryant to veto HB 1523, the anti-LGBT "religious conscience" bill.

Donna Ladd was recently named one of Southern Living's "Innovators Changing the South." The JFP is proud of our "old-fashioned muck-racking journalist with a sharp modern voice."

The New York Times is reporting that new religious "conscience" law allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people, and perhaps others, could block federal funding for the states, such as Mississippi, that are considering such laws:

The Obama administration is considering whether North Carolina’s new law on gay and transgender rights makes the state ineligible for billions of dollars in federal aid for schools, highways and housing, officials said Friday.

Cutting off any federal money — or even simply threatening to do so — would put major new pressure on North Carolina to repeal the law, which eliminated local protections for gay and transgender people and restricted which bathrooms transgender people can use. A loss of federal money could send the state into a budget crisis and jeopardize services that are central to daily life.

The Times reported that several federal agencies are reviewing the funds their agencies provide to the states that are adopting discriminatory laws:

Anthony Foxx, the secretary of transportation, first raised the prospect of a review of federal funding in public remarks on Tuesday in North Carolina. The Department of Transportation provides roughly $1 billion a year to North Carolina. The New York Times then asked other federal agencies whether they were conducting similar reviews.

A Department of Education spokeswoman, Dorie Nolt, said on Friday that her agency was also reviewing the North Carolina law “to determine any potential impact on the state’s federal education funding.” She added, “We will not hesitate to act if students’ civil rights are being violated.”

The agency said it provided $4.3 billion to North Carolina last year for kindergarten through 12th grade as well as colleges.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said it was doing a similar evaluation. “We’re reviewing the effects of the law on HUD funding allocated for North Carolina,” said Cameron French, a department spokesman.

The backers of Mississippi's HB 1523 vigorously claim that the bill isn't discrimination, but a protection of religious "conscience," even as the language of the bill belies that claim. In Mississippi, HB 1523 could go to Gov. Bryant as early as Monday for signature.

Read full coverage of the long fight for LGBT rights at jfp.ms/lgbt.

It’s time for “the Showcase of the Immortals,” “the Show of Shows” on “the Grandest Stage of Them All.”

Are you ready for WrestleMania 32?

It’s understandable if people aren’t excited about this year’s WrestleMania. Depending how the event goes, WrestleMania 32 might be remembered more for which performers are not in a match.

Several of the WWE’s biggest stars are on the shelf or won’t compete for the company again, including John Cena, the company's biggest face in more ways than one, who is out with a shoulder injury.

Randy Orton, multiple-time champion and crowd favorite, is also out with a shoulder injury, and Seth Rollins, the only former member of The Shield who won’t be on the card, is out with a knee injury.

Those are three big name stars, and you can add a couple more to the list. Daniel Bryan, leader of the Yes Movement and major fan favorite, recently retired due to injuries and concussions, and CM Punk won’t be making an appearance after walking out and deciding to fight in the UFC.

It is worth mentioning that Sting might have been on the card if Rollins hadn’t injured him in at a pay-per-view match called “Night of Champions.” There is no telling if Sting was going to be in a match at WrestleMania 32 or if he would simply slip away into the WWE Hall of Fame, since he was close to the end of his career before the injury.

Mid-card talents will also be missing, including Cesaro (billed as the “Swiss Superman”), who is out with a torn rotator cuff, Luke Harper (member of the Wyatt Family), who suffered a knee injury, Neville (billed as “the Man Gravity Forgot”), who is out with a broken ankle, and Tyson Kidd, who is dealing with an injured neck.

The women’s division is without some star power, as former WWE Divas champion Nikki Bella is out with a neck injury. That leaves her twin sister, Brie Bella, who is married in real life to Daniel Bryan, at WrestleMania.

Injuries are a part of professional wrestling. The outcomes of the matches are predetermined, but the potential for harm from falls, flips, chair shots and so forth, is real.

But even with the injuries, the show must go on, and while the card might be underwhelming, in some areas, it has some potential.

There are three matches on the preshow to WrestleMania 32 that will be televised on the USA network. The chance for some of the biggest early pops might come from the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz (tag-team match)

Expect the Usos to get the win here in a quick match that will feature some of their highflying moves and a table or two at some point.

Total Divas vs. B.A.D. and Blonde

The WWE is going to have the Total Divas team (Brie Bella, …

Jackson celebrates Islamic Heritage Month this April.

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, held a press conference this morning with House and Senate Democrats calling on the legislative leadership to suspend the rules and bring back Senate Bill 2147, Horhn's bill that would create a commission to re-design the Mississippi state flag.

Horhn and other lawmakers called on the people of the state to reach out to the legislative leadership and said it's time for a change of heart.

"What we need is a heart transplant and a change of heart in this state," Horhn said.

Several lawmakers said they want the state flag to change by 2017 for the state's bicentennial as well as the 71st Annual Meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference, which will be held in Mississippi. At the press conference, Sen. Sollie Norwood, D-Jackson, said that some of their colleagues are not interested in coming to Mississippi if the current state flag is still flying.

"We've already been advised by some of our colleagues in other states that they're not interested in coming to Mississippi because Mississippi still flies a Confederate flag," Norwood said. "I think it would be a tragedy if we lose the opportunity for our colleagues to come to our state and celebrate with us as we've gone to their states and (celebrated) with them because of our refusal to take down this flag."

A U.S. District Judge ruled Mississippi's adoption ban for same-sex couples unconstitutional today. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan released an order in the Campaign for Southern Equality v. Mississippi Department of Human Services preliminary enjoining MDHS from enforcing Mississippi's same-sex adoption ban.

Jordan dismissed the complaints against the governor and the attorney general in the case, but said that MDHS is involved in the adoption process and therefore responsible for enforcing Mississippi's ban on same-sex couples adopting in the state. Jordan ruled that the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause and ruled that the executive director of MDHS is not allowed to enforce the adoption ban, as of today.

Read the whole order here. Read more about the CSE v. MDHS case here.

What if I told you that the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final on television drew more viewers than game six of the 2015 NBA Finals, game seven of the 2014 World Series and game six of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals?

The U.S. Women’s National Team were ratings gold with 26.67 million viewers on Fox and Telemundo for the World Cup Final agianst Japan. That was bigger than the 2015 Final Four Kentucky v. Wisconsin game, the final round of the 2015 Masters, a Triple Crown winning horse (American Pharoah) in the Belmont Stakes and more.

In fact, only a few NFL and college games surpassed the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final. The USWNT v. Japan was the 26th-most watched sporting event in 2015.

While the USWNT is breaking television records for women’s sports, the team isn't cashing record-breaking checks for its work. FIFA awarded the USWNT $2 million for winning the 2015 Women’s World Cup. For winning the 2014 Men's World Cup,

FIFA awarded Germany $35 million, so the German men earned $33 million more for winning the same amount of games as the U.S. women.

Germany also got to play all of its World Cup games on grass, and the US women tried to fight to get their game switched from artificial turf. The women’s players ultimately pulled their lawsuit before the World Cup and played on artificial turf.

You would be wrong if you thought that the USWNT would make more for winning the World Cup than the USMNT did for getting knocked out of the Round of 16.

The USMNT earned $9 million for the 2014 World Cup, so the men didn’t even win their group, much less the whole damn tournament, and made $7 million more than the women.

Last year, the USWNT generated more than $20 million in revenue than the USMNT. Yet the women get paid $1,350 win, lose or draw on friendly matches, and the men get paid $5,000 even if they lose, and can make a maximum of $17,625 for friendly match wins against teams ranked in the top 10, and Mexico, who is the main rival to the US.

This wage gap has caused the USWNT and the U.S. Soccer Federation to go to court after the USSF filed a lawsuit to stop any potential strike from the USWNT before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

At issue is the USSF saying that both sides have an agreement until Dec. 31 of this year, but the USWNT says a memorandum of understanding that both sides signed in 2013 can be voided at any time. A court will have to sort out which team is right.

Five of the current stars for the USWNT, including Hope Solo, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd, have filed a wage-discrimination action against the USSF with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

This is the right time for …

The Senate passed House Bill 1523 on March 30, which would allow certain elected officials, businesses and religious organizations to not offer services based on their religious belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. Although the bill's proponents say it protects individuals from government discrimination, its critics say the bill actually allows discrimination based on religious belief. Read about the full debate here.

Below is a list of organizations that oppose House Bill 1523:

Mississippi Economic Council, the state's Chamber of Commerce

The Mississippi Economic Council has updated its overall policy on diversity and opposes HB1523. Full statement below:

“As the State Chamber of Commerce for a state that has proven its hospitable and business-friendly approach, MEC opposes efforts that would intentionally or unintentionally prevent Mississippi businesses from implementing and enforcing non-discrimination policies or that would limit diversity and inclusion impacting their customers and employees. HB 1523 conflicts with this policy."

IBM "IBM is disappointed by the Mississippi legislature's passage of H.B. 1523, because we believe this legislation with permit discrimination against people based on their marriage status, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.

"IBM encourages Governor Bryant not to approve H.B 1523, and will continue to support passage by Congress of the Equality Act, which would provide federal non-discrimination protection to all Americans."

AT&T

"AT&T supports our freedom of speech and religion just as vigorously as we oppose discrimination. Legislation that permits discrimination against any of our employees or customers conflicts with our core values. Our position on discrimination is simple; we oppose it."

Levi Strauss & Co. "We believe that treating all people equally and fairly is good for business, and discrimination has no place anywhere. #NoOnHB1523"

Mass Mutual Tweet: "Diversity is a core value @massmutual. We encourage Gov. @PhilBryantMS to keep MS open for business and veto #HB1523."

Lance Bass Tweet: "An anti-LGBT bill in Mississippi is dangerously close to becoming law. Take action with me & @HRC to say #NoOnHB1523 hrc.org/Mississippi"

Statement: "Mississippi is my home—I was born there and grew up there. My husband Michael and I frequently travel back to Laurel to spend time with family. However, the state we know and love is under attack by hateful lawmakers who want to legalize discrimination. If they have their way, on our next visit, Michael and I could be kicked out of a hotel or refused emergency shelter in a storm just because of who we are. That does not sound like the Hospitality State. We are better than this bill, and I urge my fellow Mississippians to join me in calling on Governor Bryant to veto HB1523 when it reaches his desk." Read Diana Bass, Lance's mother, testifying to her church about learning that her son was gay: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2014/apr/30/diane-bass-testimony-her-church/

ACLU of Mississippi

Executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi Jennifer Riley-Collins released this statement today:

"The ACLU of Mississippi is deeply disturbed that the Mississippi State Senate passed …