ACLU sues Mississippi over anti-LGBT law

Fighting discrimination in Mississippi. — (Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, along with a same-sex couple, is suing the state over its new anti-LGBT law, The Associated Press reports.

The law, set to take effect in July, purports to protect religious freedom by permitting businesses to deny serving same-sex couples. The bill, like similar anti-LGBT legislation in North Carolina, has prompted a lot of backlash, including criticism from President Obama.

"Our grandparents experienced discrimination for being black, and my parents probably did as well," said Nykolas Alford, who filed the suit with his fiancé, Stephen Thomas. "My parents were born in the '60s and grew up in the '70s and '80s, and so it's always been a part of our lives. We thought this movement was over, you know? We thought that we would be fine. We thought that we would be equal, and here we are today saying that we're not, and we want equality."

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.