JACKSON, Miss. — A federal judge has blocked a Mississippi law that would let merchants and government employees cite religious beliefs in denying or delaying services to same-sex couples.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves filed an order overnight in two lawsuits blocking the law just moments before it was to take effect Friday.

State attorneys are expected to appeal.

The law would protect three beliefs: that marriage is only between a man and a woman; that sex should only take place in such a marriage, and that a person’s gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered.

It would allow clerks to cite religious objections to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and it could affect adoptions and foster care, business practices and school bathroom policies.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi filed suit in May in an attempt to stop the law. Other suits were brought against the measure, as well…. read more here