Mississippi Suit On Gay Marriage Recusals Is Reopened

In June, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed for lack of standing a challenge to Mississippi's broad Conscience Protection Act. (See prior posting.) In October, an en banc rehearing was denied.  In light of this, yesterday a Mississippi federal district court in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant, (SD MI, Oct. 27, 2017), issued an order (full text) reopening a challenge to the law insofar as it allows county clerks to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage.  The Order also authorized plaintiffs to serve interrogatories to determine how many Clerk's Offices have employees that have sought to recuse themselves, and how the recusals are handled. AP reports on the order.