Mississippi’s LGBTQ segregation law—known as House Bill 1523 before it was signed on Tuesday by Gov. Phil Bryant—is considered by most critics to be the worst of its kind in the nation. As my colleague Mark Joseph Stern has explained, the astounding breadth of its impact—allowing discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, and bathroom access on the basis of the now-familiar canard of “sincerely held religious belief”—essentially establishes a division in the state between straight, cisgender citizens and those who happen to be LGBTQ. And to be clear, being on the latter side off that line is not a good thing.
While the Mississippi situation is deadly serious, one way of registering resistance is with a little satire—and true to form, Funny or Die has come through with a new tourism ad for the state that fits the bill nicely.
The spot begins as you might expect, with state-pride clichés piped over stock video of folks having a good time: “We’re Mississippi. We’re proud of our Southern values, magnolia trees, and hot days.” But then it takes a turn: “Now, thanks to Gov. Bryant, we have an oppressive law to match our oppressive heat!”
The promo only gets more biting from there. A few of my favorite lines: “Visit one of our soul food restaurants and swallow your sense of humanity”; “paddle your way through semantics that justify discrimination”; and “soak up the fun in our national chain restaurants and stores before they pack up and leave.” This last jab hints at the corporate pressures states like North Carolina have recently drawn for this kind of legislation. For the sake of its LGBTQ citizens, let’s hope that Mississippi starts to feel that kind of heat as well.
