JACKSON, Miss. — A federal judge struck down a Mississippi law that would have allowed clerks and businesses to cite religious objections to same-sex marriages before it was scheduled to go into effect Friday, ruling it unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves struck down House Bill 1523 in its entirety late Thursday night.

In his 60-page ruling, Reeves wrote that through HB 1523, the state grants privileges to people who hold certain moral convictions which “violates both the guarantee of religious neutrality and the promise of equal protection of the laws.”

Attorneys for the state are expected to appeal the decision.

Reeves wrote that the title, text and history of the law show it is "the state's attempt to put LGBT citizens back in their place" in response to last summer's Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.

"In physics, every action has its equal and opposite reaction," he wrote. "In politics, every action has its predictable overreaction."

The order came days after Reeves blocked part of the bill Monday, when he issued an injunction barring Mississippi from denying same-sex marriage licenses.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant responded to the ruling Friday morning, saying he was "disappointed" and looked forward to an "aggressive appeal."

"Like I said when I signed House Bill 1523, the law simply provides religious accommodations granted by many other states and federal law," Bryant said. "I am disappointed Judge Reeves did not recognize that reality. I look forward to an aggressive appeal."

Knol Aust, chairman of Unity Mississippi, spoke against Bryant's planned appeal, saying that it "will further damage our state's financial health and our state's image in the national spotlight."

The Human Rights Campaign issued a news release Friday morning, saying they "lauded U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves’ decision to block the implementation of Mississippi’s discriminatory and harmful H.B. 1523.

"This legislation was rooted in hate, it targeted the LGBTQ community and it was a deliberate attempt to undermine marriage equality and the dignity of LGBTQ Mississippians who lawmakers have sworn to serve and protect,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “We will continue our fight to ensure that H.B. 1523 is repealed in its entirety.”

Bryant signed the bill into law in April. In addition to allowing clerks to recuse themselves, the law incorporated three beliefs that businesses could cite in order to refuse service based on religious objections to clients. They are that marriage should only be between one man and one woman; that sexual intercourse should only happen in such a marriage; and that one's gender is assigned at birth and cannot be changed.

The controversial bill, seen by many as discriminatory toward the LGBT community, sparked outrage from numerous organizations, celebrities and politicians and prompted several states and major cities to ban official travel to Mississippi in protest.

The ACLU of Mississippi celebrated Reeves' decision.

“We are thrilled that Judge Reeves ruled on the right side of history in striking down House Bill 1523 and congratulate our allies who brought these cases," said ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jennifer Riley-Collins. "It is a huge victory for the state of Mississippi and the nation. The federal ruling clearly states that HB 1523 is unconstitutional, and now this discriminatory law that unfairly targeted LGBT people will not go into effect. One religious view of marriage should not preclude all others or federal law."

Riley-Collins said the fight for equal rights for the LGBT community will continue.

The ruling was in response to two lawsuits filed weeks ago by gay and straight plaintiffs.

More than 100 bills were filed in more than 20 state legislatures across the nation in response to the Supreme Court gay marriage ruling, UCLA law professor Douglas NeJaime testified before Reeves last week.

Reeves' ruling marks the third consecutive victory for attorney Roberta Kaplan, who represented the Campaign for Southern Equality in one of the lawsuits against HB 1523. Previously, Kaplan successfully challenged Mississippi's same-sex marriage ban in late 2014 and the state's ban on adoption by same-sex couples earlier this year.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Royce Swayze and Sarah Fowler on Twitter: @royce_swayze and @FowlerSarah