MISSISSIPPI: Openly Lesbian Journalist Robin Roberts Is The New Face Of State’s Official Tourism Agency

The Advocate reports:

Lesbian news anchor Robin Roberts is the face of Mississippi’s official state tourism publication this year, joining Gov. Phil Bryant, who recently signed an anti-LGBT bill into law, in encouraging tourists to visit the Magnolia State.

The 2016 official tour guide for the state of Mississippi, which features Roberts on the cover, came out well before the governor signed a pro-discrimination law, allowing businesses, individuals and broadly defined “religiously affiliated organizations” to refuse service to LGBT people, single mothers, and others who somehow offend an individual’s “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction” regarding marriage and sexuality. The law also directly targets transgender residents, effectively claiming that one’s sex assigned at birth is immutable and will be the only gender recognized by the state. The law takes effect July 1.

Roberts, who grew up in Pass Christian, Miss., is interviewed about her work covering the Mississippi impact of Hurricane Katrina for Good Morning America. Inside the magazine, the cover story indicates that “Robin Roberts reflects on how her Mississippi roots shaped her life.”

The Advocate adds that Roberts also appears on the home page of Mississippi’s two official tourism websites. (Tipped by JMG reader Markus)