The vice president of one of the nation’s top and most-active anti-gay organizations is attacking the pro-LGBT campaign of concerned Mississippi small business owners. Earlier this month, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed into law sweeping anti-gay legislation masquerading as the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The law is vaguely-written, highly-controversial, and some say is a license to discriminate against LGBT people under the guise of religious liberty.
In response hundreds of worried Mississippi small business owners, under the leadership of Jackson hair salon owner Eddie Outlaw and others, began a simple but smart campaign, called “We don’t discriminate.”
“We have a long and well-documented history of discrimination in this state,” Outlaw told the AP. “To think there won’t be any discrimination is laughable.”
Over 500 stickers have already been distributed to businesses, that are posting them in their windows and on their doors. They proudly let LGBT people know they won’t be discriminated against in that establishment. Along with the “We don’t discriminate” promise, the sticker offers a rainbow logo and the tagline: “If you’re buying, we’re selling.”
But Greg Scott, the vice president of Media Communications for the Alliance Defending Freedom, isn’t very happy about the campaign. Via Twitter, Scott called the small business owners’ actions an “absurd anti-relig[ious] freedom campaign,” and claimed that the law, the Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act, is “imaginary.”
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.@AP covers absurd anti-relig freedom campaign. MS RFRA = fed. RFRA. 20 yrs since #RFRA NONE of this has happened http://t.co/0yKCXOIEPb
— Greg Scott (@ADFmedia) April 25, 2014
Sticker folks protest imaginary law .@AP bows false narrative, RFRA not “vaguely written,” no threat to “=treatment” http://t.co/0yKCXOIEPb — Greg Scott (@ADFmedia) April 25, 2014
.@GetReligion @bobbyross AP sticks it to Mississippi religious freedom law http://t.co/Aiekua7ab1 #RFRA #religiousfreedomforall
— Greg Scott (@ADFmedia) April 25, 2014
The Alliance Defending Freedom calls itself “a servant ministry building an alliance to keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel by transforming the legal system and advocating for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.”
It was cofounded by several religious right extremists, including James Dobson, founder of the Family Research Council and Focus On The Family, and Donald Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association. Both the Family Research Council and the American Family Association are included among the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of anti-gay hate groups.
The ADF is known for its failed defense of California’s Prop 8 and the Elane Photography case.
If You’re Buying is also on Facebook.
Here are some images of the stickers posted to social media:
//storify.com/davidbadash/mississippi-businesses-we-don-t-discriminate-campa/embed?border=false
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