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WATCH LIVE: Mississippi House About To Hold Final Vote on Hateful Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill

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State Chamber of Commerce, Dozens of Businesses Come Out Against HB 1523

LGBT advocates have been protesting a hateful anti-LGBT “religious freedom” bill outside the Mississippi Capitol on Monday. 

Meanwhile, the state’s chamber of commerce, along with dozens of businesses and other organizations, have come out against HB 1523, known as the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act.”

The Mississippi House voted 68-44 on Friday to send HB 1523 to the desk of Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, but the bill was held on a motion to reconsider that’s expected to be dealt with Monday afternoon. Bryant has said he doesn’t believe the bill is discriminatory, but hasn’t indicated whether he’ll sign it. 

Earlier Monday, representatives from the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU of Mississippi, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood and staged a joint press conference in Jackson, where they called on House Speaker Phil Gunn, the author of the bill, not to take it up for a final vote, and for Bryant to veto it should it reach his desk. 

Last week, the Mississippi Economic Council, the state’s chamber of commerce, said it “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,” the Economic Council said. 

Numerous individual businesses have also come out against HB 1523, including the state’s largest private employer, Nissan Group of North America, as well as Tyson Foods Inc., MGM Resorts International, Toyota , AT&T, IBM, Levi Strauss and MassMutual, according to HRC. (The Jackson Free Press has list of businesses and other organizations opposed to the bill.)

“They know it’s not good for their employees,” HRC President Chad Griffin said at Monday’s press conference, according to The Clarion Ledger. Griffin said called HB 1523 “a draconian measure that would allow businesses to discriminate by denying services to the LGBT community, legalize Kim Davis-style discrimination on the job, and give taxpayer-funded organizations the right to deny critical services like counseling and mental health care to LGBT people in need.”   

In an editorial published Friday, The Sun Herald of Biloxi wrote that Gunn has led the state into a “legal, moral and ethical swamp.” 

“Condemnation of Gunn’s handiwork has been swift and widespread on social media, which for better or worse, is a major molder of public opinion,” the Sun Herald Editorial Board writes. “But Mississippi officialdom’s attitude has been to shrug off criticism, be it for its flag, its Wild West gun laws or the Confederate emblem on its flag. And it continues to dwell near the bottom on most quality of life measures, be it health care, education, or jobs. This law will only make it harder to row against that tide.”

Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, is also calling on Bryant to veto the bill. 

“I am aware that some Christian bodies say this legislation is needed,” Seage wrote. “I disagree. It addresses a conflict which does not exist. The Episcopal Church embraces all persons who seek to follow our Lord, and we honor all persons who yearn for equality in this society. Our doors remain open to all God’s children.” 

The House is scheduled to convene at 4 p.m. Central time today. Watch the proceedings live here. 

UPDATE– BREAKING: Mississippi House Sends Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill to Gov. Phil Bryant

 

Image by Blake Feldman via Twitter 

 

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Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report

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The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.

The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”

Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.

Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.

 

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Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push

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A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.

Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.

Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”

She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”

READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.

Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”

He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.

“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

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Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.

Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.

“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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