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Man Sues Funeral Home That He Says Refused His 86-Year-Old Husband's Body

Jack Zadawski alleges the funeral parlor refused to handle the body based on his husband's sexuality

A funeral home in Mississippi allegedly refused to perform a man's cremation because he was gay, and now his husband is suing the funeral parlor, NBC News reported.

Robert Huskey, 86, died in May 2016 from a heart condition, with funeral arrangements at Picayune Funeral Home made one month beforehand. But the funeral home suddenly refused to pick up and cremate Huskey's body as planned on the day of his death, according to a lawsuit announced Tuesday by advocacy group Lambda Legal.

The suit alleges that the funeral parlor discovered Huskey was gay and married to his partner of 52 years, Jack Zadawski. "No one should be put through what we were put through," he said in a statement.

A staffer at Picayune Funeral Home told NBC News over the phone the company's attorney forbid discussing the lawsuit. A controversial Mississippi law that Lambda Legal is fighting protects the rights of businesses that turn away LGBTQ customers over moral or religious beliefs.

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