Speaker Gunn Responds to Passage of SB 2681

JACKSON, Miss. (Press Release) — The conference report on Senate Bill 2681 passed the House floor today by a vote of 78-43.

The conference report includes language for a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), along with adding ‘In God We Trust’ on the Great Seal of the State of Mississippi.

“The RFRA language in this conference report is responsible and narrow in focus,” said Speaker of the House Philip Gunn. “The goal of the House, from the beginning, has been to craft language that protects the religious freedoms for all and prevents discrimination against anyone. This RFRA language is virtually the same language passed in 1993 by Congress.

“It passed the United State House of Representatives on a unanimous voice vote, passed the United States Senate 97 -3, and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton,” he said.

The 1993 RFRA was endorsed by groups that include the ACLU, the Traditional Values Coalition, the American Muslim Council, the American Jewish Committee, the American Humanists Association, the Jesuit Social Ministries, the National Association of Evangelicals, and more than 50 other organizations.