THE
S TUDENT PRINTZ www.studentprintz.com
SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Volume 98 Issue 47
STATE
Religious freedom bill revamped Miss. legislature passes SB 2681
Ardan Thornhill Printz Reporter
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has urged Gov. Phil Bryant to veto Senate Bill 2681 after an unnerving debate in both houses of Mississippi legislature Tuesday ended in the bill’s passage 79-43 in the House and 37-14 in the Senate. Opponents refer to SB 2681, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as the “turn away the gays” bill, or the “license to discriminate,” after finding that its clauses and language could allow business owners to refuse service to gay couples on personal religious grounds. Much of the previously removed original language was revived in similar forms during a conference committee just 13 minutes before the Monday night deadline. Despite the efforts previously made to allay concerns on the bill’s possibly problematic elements, the third iteration passed the evening of April 1 is referred to as far-reaching. HRC State Legislative Director
USA TODAY Sports Images
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, with former USM running back Sammy Winder, waves to the crowd after being introduced before the game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Marshall Thundering Herd at M.M. Roberts Stadium in 2012.
Sarah Warbelow stated that the bill, as stands, has the effect of making LGBT people strangers to the law. “Before Mississippi has had the opportunity to robustly discuss the lived experienced of the LGBT people, this bill would hollow out any non-discrimination protections at the local level or possible future state-wide protections,” Warbelow said. SB 2681 was brought to House committee in February after large public outcry, following Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s veto on a similar bill after it jeopardized Arizona’s stint as next year’s Super Bowl host, amongst other national backlash. “Just as we have seen in other states, this bill is bad for business, bad for the state’s reputation and most of all, bad for Mississippians,” Warbelow said. Sen. Philip Gandy, R-Waynesboro, and co-author of the bill, refutes that claim. “The Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) has no problem with this bill, (nor) the business community,” Gandy said. The MEC previously opposed the bill before recent revisions
in its language. Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, prompted Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, to say whether or not he feels the bill would permit discrimination of any type based on religion. “In my opinion, it does not,” Polk said. Polk compared the bill’s religious protections to the civil rights movement. Simmons – an AfricanAmerican – explained his opposition to the bill. “If you have never been discriminated against, you don’t know how that feels,” Simmons said. “I urge you to vote against this bill because it legalizes discrimination.” Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, also refuted Polk’s claims, pointing out that the measures that eliminated discrimination came from federal courts rather than Mississippi legislature. Gandy said there is no intention to discriminate against anyone. Gandy said the idea came about after he learned that a church in Holly Springs experienced difficulty in receiving a permit to hold services in the town square.
See BRYANT, 3
ON CAMPUS
Annual event to help battle Parkinson’s Allison Edwards Printz Reporter
The University of Southern Mississippi chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) will be hosting Pancakes for Parkinson’s: Teen Wolf Edition Saturday, April 5 at Nitchampsburg Field. In honor of this year’s third
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annual Pancakes for Parkinson’s event, attendees can grab a free pancake dinner and watch the 1985 film “Teen Wolf” starring Michael J. Fox. Brittany Crosen, student vice president of philanthropy for the Southern Miss chapter of AMA, said that AMA hopes to raise up to $5,000 in donations for Parkinson’s research, a goal they met nearly halfway at the
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2013 event. “We do different themes, but it’s always Pancakes for Parkinson’s,” Crosen said. “Last year we did Batter Up for the Fight Against Parkinson’s, and we did it before a baseball game, and we did it baseball-themed.” Crosen said the AMA team first got the idea for this event two years ago from Leisa Flynn, a marketing professor at
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USM whose husband has had Parkinson’s for 25 years. “A few years ago I learned about the Pancakes for Parkinson’s event that has been held at the University of Virginia for more than 10 years and I thought it would be good for the students to learn about event planning and promotion by running one here,” Flynn said. “Fortunately, the sponsors of
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the Student American Marketing Association thought it was a good idea too. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research does a great job in learning more about the disease, and their work has led to a number of new treatments.” Fox is a known leader in facilitating Parkinson’s research,
See PANCAKES, 3
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SPORTS Softball Eagles have mixed success in doubleheader.