New delay in state law on objection to gay marriage

Published 9:50 pm Wednesday, October 4, 2017

JACKSON (AP) — New court action has created a slight delay for a Mississippi law dealing with religious objections to gay marriage.

Opponents asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to keep blocking the law, which has been on hold more than a year. The court said it would not. The law was set to take effect Friday, but the decision delays the effective date until next Tuesday.

The law , signed Republican Gov. Phil Bryant in 2016, could allow government workers or private business people to cite their own religious beliefs to deny services to LGBT people.

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Legal experts say it’s the broadest religious-objections law enacted by any state since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.

Opponents will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to permanently block the Mississippi law.