In response to Governor Phil Bryant’s signing of Senate Bill 2681, GetEQUAL – a national grassroots social justice organization focused on winning full equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Americans – issued the following statement:
Today is a sad day for Mississippi and a sad day for the country. Earlier today, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — a hate-filled bill that asserts both the moral and legal superiority of anti-LGBT Christians over and above everyone else.
We had hoped that the governor would see that this bill will further isolate Mississippi within the business community. We had hoped that the governor would see that this bill will hurt those who live in the state or who are considering moving there. We had hoped that the governor would see that this bill will, in fact, hurt his own family and people who he loves. We had hoped that the “family values” that the governor espouses would hold true and that he would act in a way that fully values his own family. Unfortunately, hatred and ignorance won out today — and our hearts are with those fair-minded Mississippians who call the state home.
But our hearts are not permanently broken and our hope is not irrevocably lost. We will re-double our efforts to convince decision-makers in Mississippi that love always wins, that the arc of the universe always bends toward justice, and that we will never give up on the right of all people to live with freedom and dignity as their full, authentic selves. We will continue to work with and support that “moral majority” throughout the state who believe in fairness and justice. And we will work until our hands bleed to ensure that every Mississippian has the right to fully live up to their potential and into their future — despite the efforts of the small-minded and cold-hearted who supported this bill.
Love will win. Hope will persevere. Justice will ensue. Equality will triumph, and we recommit ourselves to making sure that it does.