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Miss. Judge Strikes Down Anti-LGBT Bill

Clerks cannot recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

A federal judge in Mississippi on Monday ordered the state’s government clerks to not interfere with the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples by citing their own religious beliefs. The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, precludes clerks from recusing themselves based on the state’s new religious-objections measure, which was supposed to become law on Friday. “Mississippi’s elected officials may disagree with Obergefell, of course, and may express that disagreement as they see fit—by advocating for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, for example,” Reeves wrote. “But the marriage-license issue will not be adjudicated anew after every legislative session.”