Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Mississippi face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all the protections available to opposite-sex married couples.

Laws against homosexuality

Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Mississippi since 2003, when the United States Supreme Court struck down all state sodomy laws with Lawrence v. Texas

Lawrence v. Texas

Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court case. In the 6-3 ruling, the Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas and, by proxy, invalidated sodomy laws in the thirteen other states where they remained in existence, thereby making same-sex sexual activity legal in...

.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Mississippi does not permit the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The state forbids, both by statute and in its constitution, the recognition of same-sex marriages and other form of same-sex partnership solemnized in other jurisdictions. The constitutional amendment

Mississippi Amendment 1 (2004)

Amendment 1 of 2004 is an amendment to the Mississippi Constitution that prohibited same-sex marriages from being conducted or recognized in Mississippi...

 defining marriage was approved in a voter referendum in November 2004.

Adoption and parenting

Mississippi permits adoption by an unmarried adult without regard to sexual orientation. Couples of the same gender may not adopt jointly.

Discrimination protection

Mississippi law does not address discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Hate crime laws

State law does not address hate crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Public opinion

A November 2011 Public Policy Polling

Public Policy Polling

Public Policy Polling is an American Democratic Party-affiliated polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. PPP was founded in 2001 by businessman and Democratic pollster Dean Debnam, the firm's current president and chief executive officer...

survey found that only 13% of Mississippi voters supported the legalization of same-sex marriage, while 78% were opposed and 9% were not sure. A separate question on the same survey found that 38% of respondents supported legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 10% supporting same-sex marriage and 28% supporting civil unions, 60% opposed all legal recognition, and 2% were not sure, making Mississippi one of the most conservative states in the country on the issue.