My office phone rings a good bit. Usually, the caller is complaining about something — wet newspaper, missed delivery, mistake in print, etc. — or occasionally some company is trying to sell something.

Rarely do my phone calls seem as sincere and personal as one last week.

The caller was very polite and suggested that he simply wanted to talk through my thoughts on how the community in Natchez felt about the passage of a statewide law which prohibits state prosecution for people who choose not to provide services for same-sex marriage couples.

The caller identified himself as a long-time online reader of the newspaper and someone who has routinely visited Natchez over the past several years.

He was, the man explained, in love with Natchez’s beauty and charm. So much so that he planned to relocate here from California soon — with his male partner.

The caller explained that he had read my comments about House Bill 1523 that Gov. Phil Bryant signed into law last week.

He thanked me for my comments against the law, but mostly he was worried and looking for a bit of reassurance.

Was Natchez not the gracious, accepting town that he’d grown to love and in which he’d hoped to grow old?

As we talked, I felt a sense of deep worry and slight disappointment in his voice.

He told me that friends and acquaintances in California had looked at him as if it were crazy when he told them he dreamed of moving to Mississippi.

It was a quick reminder of just how backward the rest of the world sees our state — a reputation made all the worse by these reactionary laws that seem to be searching for a reason to exist.

I told the caller the truth — I’m ashamed of our state and the so-called Christians who support this bill. In hiding behind religious freedom, they’re working hard to discriminate and, well, act very much non-Christian.

I shared with the caller that while Natchez was vastly different than other cites around the state in some respects, at the end of the day, perhaps we were filled with as many hypocritical bigots as the next town.

As sad as it might be to realize it, Natchez and Mississippi as a whole are still largely segregated places. If things were put to popular vote, it might surprise us all how backward looking our new laws may truly be.

Would the majority of Mississippians vote to re-segregate schools — either along racial lines or even economic class lines?

Would Mississippians peel back the right to vote for women?

Perhaps we could ban all homosexuals from being citizens?

What about divorcees? That was once a taboo topic in proper Mississippi circles.

While we’re at it, let’s ban all the people who don’t think like the majority, too. Let’s get rid of all the criminals and the poor, too.

Think of how great Mississippi would be! Of course, I’m being facetious, though clearly some small-brained among us must certainly think such grassroots divisiveness is worth considering.

At the end of the call, I’m not sure the man from California was any more reassured than when he dialed my number.

We have the First Amendment. It protects our freedom of religion — wholeheartedly.

HB 1523 wasn’t necessary.

We simply need to be kind to one another and live by example, treating others, as we would want to be treated.

That’s not, as critics suggest, “rolling over” and being trampled on.

The Bible doesn’t teach us to shun those who we feel don’t live up to the Christian standard. It actually suggests that God, not us, will judge.

Rather than making laws that simply cause more divisions among us, perhaps we should simply invite one another to talk — or better yet, come to church — to better understand what we believe and why we believe it.

I don’t condone the gay lifestyle any more than I condone adultery, lying, stealing or any other sin. God tells us that we’re all sinners who fall short of his glory. More laws won’t help us all have any less sin, but they can steer us to mistreat one another more.

 

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.