Christians who support traditional marriage in US states were protected by two Appeal Court rulings in July.
In Mississippi, the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed a Bill protecting people in the state from being forced to participate in same-sex weddings.
A similar ruling was made in North Carolina, allowing court officials to opt out of performing same-sex marriages.
Sincerely-held religious views
Mississippi’s ‘Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act’, HB 1523, was signed into law last year by state Governor Phil Bryant.
It had been blocked by an injunction from District Judge Carlton Reeves, but the Appeal Court overruled his decision.
The court ruled to protect people with sincerely-held religious beliefs from discrimination from the government and its ‘political subdivisions’.
Speaking afterwards, Governor Bryant said the Bill ‘simply prevents government interference with the constitutional right to exercise sincerely-held religious beliefs’.
Their judgment now means that court officials in North Carolina who have a sincerely-held religious objection can now exempt themselves from all wedding ceremonies without being prosecuted for failing to perform the duties imposed on them by law.
Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, welcomed the court’s decision: ‘We celebrate this victory for North Carolina magistrates who have the constitutional right to follow their conscience and rights to free exercise without fear of punishment.’
