Now It Is Mississippi Turn

Another Republican legislature passed hate legislation.

Reaction to Mississippi's Religious Accommodations Act
WTOK
March 31, 2016

Jackson, Miss. The purpose of the Religious Accommodations Act varies depending on who you ask. It has passed the Mississippi House and Senate but has to go back to the House for another seal of approval before it hits the governor's desk.

Opponents say the proposal legalizes discrimination, while supporters say it's legal protection for those exercising their religious beliefs.

"I shouldn't be forced to violate that principle to satisfy someone else's lawsuit or claim or whatever it may be," said Rep. Andy Gipson, author of the bill.

Meanwhile in North Carolina is starting to feel the burn.

Over 100 top CEOs press North Carolina governor to repeal anti-transgender law
The Japan Times
AP
April 1, 2016

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – More than 100 corporate executives added their names to a letter delivered to North Carolina’s governor on Thursday calling for the repeal of the nation’s first state law limiting bathroom options for transgender people.

The law signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory also prohibits local anti-discrimination measures; prevents workers from suing in state court alleging discrimination on the basis of race, sex and other factors; and prevents cities and counties from requiring businesses to provide minimum wages or paid sick leave.
[…]
The list now includes leaders of many sectors of the economy. Tourism is represented by Hilton, Marriott and Starwood hotels; AirBnB, Uber and Lyft; and American Airlines, which has a major hub in Charlotte, the state’s largest city.

Banking and finance executives include the leaders of Bank of America, Citibank, TD Bank, PayPal and others. Restaurateurs and retailers include leaders of Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and Levi Strauss. Technology leaders joined in force, including the leaders of IBM, Apple, Intel, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, eBay, Twitter, YouTube and many others.

Connecticut not to be left out…

Executive Order bans state-funded travel to North Carolina
WTNH
By Mark Davis, News 8 Chief Capitol Correspondent
Published: March 31, 2016

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Governor Malloy is once again inserting himself into national controversy over a law in another state. Even though he is up to his ears in red ink and about to layoff perhaps thousands of state employees, the Governor is dipping into the national controversy centering on a controversial new law in the state of North Carolina.

Signing an Executive Order Wednesday banning any state funded travel to North Carolina, saying the new law is discriminatory to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. Especially placing transgender citizens at risk. “People who are in the process of changing from one gender to another are very vulnerable and to tell a person what bathroom they have to use is a very dangerous position,” says the Governor.

So why is there a rash of these anti-LGBT and anti-trans laws? It can be traced right back to the top, the Republican National Committee.

RNC endorses anti-trans bathroom bills
Washington Blade
By Chris Johnson
February 25, 2016

Amid consideration in state legislatures of “papers to pee” bathroom bills aimed against transgender students, the Republican National Committee has approved a resolution endorsing the legislation. The resolution, approved under the chairmanship of Reince Priebus, condemns as “governmental overreach” the Obama administration’s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to prohibit discrimination against transgender students

The resolution says,

RESOLUTION CONDEMNING GOVERNMENTAL OVERREACH

REGARDING TITLE IX POLICIES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

WHEREAS, A person’s sex is defined as the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined at conception, identified at birth by a person’s anatomy, recorded on their official birth certificate, and can be confirmed by DNA testing;
WHEREAS, Transgender policies deal with students who choose to be designated by their desired gender identity; an identity that conflicts with their anatomical sex;
WHEREAS, The U.S. Congress has never included gender identity within the Title IX Federal Law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity and that mandates allowing students of one biological sex to play sports designated for the opposite biological sex;
WHEREAS, Federal courts have ruled that Title IX does not extend to claims of discrimination based on gender identity and that schools can maintain separate restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities on the basis of sex where privacy is a concern;
WHEREAS, The Obama Administration’s Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights released an updated policy letter stating that Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to an individual’s chosen gender identity of male or female;
WHEREAS, Federal courts have ruled that the U.S. Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX is not legally binding because the Department lacks authority to promulgate such an interpretation; and
WHEREAS, Policies of the Obama Administration, presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and public schools that allow any students to use the restrooms, locker rooms, or other facilities designated for the exclusive use of the other sex infringes on the rights of privacy and conscience of other students; and therefore be it
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee calls on the Department of Education to rescind its interpretation of Title IX that wrongly includes facility use issues by transgender students;
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee encourages State Legislatures to recognize that these Obama gender identity policies are a federal governmental overreach, a misinterpretation of Title IX policies, and an infringement upon the majority of students’ Constitutional rights; and
RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee encourages state legislatures to enact laws that protect student privacy and limit the use of restrooms, locker rooms and similar facilities to members of
the sex to whom the facility is designated

So all of you who think that I am picking on the Republicans, please explain this.