The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Mississippi [advocacy websites] filed a federal lawsuit [complaint, PDF] Monday challenging Mississippi’s controversial House Bill 1523 [materials]. The law, set to take effect July 1, allows state employees to refuse to issue same-sex-marriage licenses and allows private businesses and religious groups to deny services to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities without the threat of punishment. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a same-sex couple engaged to be married who described the law [press release] as “a slap in the face.” According to the complaint:

As a result of this separate and unequal regime, HB 1523 places Plaintiffs, ACLU of Mississippi members, and other same-sex couples in an unstable position of being in a second-tier marriage. Even if no discrimination actually occurs, the second-tier status tells all persons with whom same-sex couples interact, including their own children, that their marriage is less worthy than the marriages of others.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief.

The intersection of religious liberty and sexual orientation and gender identity has been a controversial issue in the US, with multiple states enacting religious freedom bills. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed HB 1523 [JURIST report] into law last month. In March Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said that he would veto [JURIST report] a similar religious freedom bill that critics claimed would sanction discrimination against LGBT individuals. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe also recently vetoed [JURIST report] a similar bill.