On her Saturday morning talk show on MSNBC, Melissa Harris-Perry launched into Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant for signing a “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” that allows religious people to practice their faith in the business world.
Harris-Perry not only attacked the GOP governor for enabling the “bigots” to “dehumanize” the LGBT lobby, but lectured that he can add “In God We Trust” to the state seal, but the state of Mississippi is horribly failing Jesus by being so behind in economic measurements (video below):
HARRIS-PERRY So, Governor, what did you -- what you did was to make it even easier than it already was to discriminate against LGBT Mississippians. To deny them services available to everyone else. Basically you gave bigots yet another avenue to dehumanize their LGBT neighbors.
And that's not all the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does. It also adds the words "In God We Trust" to the official state seal. Something that was such a legislative priority that you made special reference to it in your January State of the State address.
GOV. PHIL BRYANT (clip): With your help, the seal of the state of Mississippi from this section forward will reflect the simple yet profound words "In God We Trust."
HARRIS-PERRY: So, Governor, you made it a priority to add a few words to the state seal, a priority for Mississippi where more than one in five people live in poverty, more than any other state in the country -- the state where people struggle more than in any other state to afford food, the state with the shortest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rate, the state with the second lowest high school graduation rates and the lowest math and reading scores of any state.
In God we trust. But that goes both ways, Governor. The way God works, at least in the Christian tradition which you and 84 percent of Mississippians follow, the way God works is through his followers. "Feed my sheep," Jesus said. So when you put Mississippi in God's hands, Governor, you’ve gotta hold up your end of the bargain. Sincerely, Melissa.
