Good Morning America co-host
Robin Roberts on Friday explained why she's pitching Mississippi
tourism.
The openly gay Roberts responding to
her appearance on the cover of an official tourism guide for the
state of Mississippi.
Roberts' participation in promoting her
home state attracted national attention after Governor Phil Bryant
signed a so-called religious freedom bill into law that protects
opponents of the Supreme Court's June, 2015 finding that gay and
lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry. The Protecting
Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act also
protects the “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral
convictions” of individuals and “private associations” opposed
to transgender people and sexual relations outside of marriage.
Roberts explained that she was
interviewed for the tourism guide last year.
“Last year well before recent events,
I was interviewed and photographed to be on the cover of
Mississippi’s official state tourism publication. I’ve often
boasted about the beautiful people, delicious food and my picturesque
hometown of Pass Christian,” Roberts wrote.
“My longtime partner, Amber, and I
have always felt welcomed in my home state, and it hurts my soul to
think of anyone not feeling welcome.”
“It’s always been a deeply held
belief of mine that everyone, everywhere should be treated equally.
I’m proud that my beloved mother and father taught me as a child
growing up in Mississippi to focus on the many things we all have in
common, not our few differences. And what we all deserve to have in
common is the right to be treated equally,” she added.