Attorney General Ken Paxton hailed a ruling today by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which dismissed a challenge against the state of Mississippi’s religious freedom law (HB 1523). Attorney General Paxton sided with Mississippi in an amicus brief filed in the 5th Circuit on behalf of nine states last November.
Mississippi’s law protects citizens from government discrimination based on an individual’s sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of plaintiffs who complained that the law violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, and a district court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law from taking effect last July.
Today, writing on behalf of a three-judge panel, 5th Circuit Judge Jerry Smith ruled that the plaintiffs challenging the law lacked standing. “Under this current record, the plaintiffs have not shown an injury-in-fact caused by HB 1523 that would empower the district court or this court to rule on its constitutionality.”
“I’m grateful that the 5th Circuit saw through this latest attempt by some to restrict religious freedom and impose their beliefs on others,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Mississippi’s law affirms what the U.S. Supreme Court professed in Obergefell: that religious men and women be “given proper protection’ to exercise their faith.”
Mississippi’s Religious Liberty Accommodations Act reinforces existing religious freedom rights, does not limit any constitutionally protected rights or actions, and does not challenge federal law. Among other things, the law protects the freedom of conscience for faith based adoption and foster care providers, protects conscience rights of state employees who may refuse to license marriages, and protects individuals who decline to provide certain medical services.