Governor Nathan Deal responded to corporate threats to pull out of Georgia by vetoing a far-reaching bill that would have made discrimination against gays legal.
The bill would have given legal protection to anyone who refused service to a gay couple, and government officials who refused to issue marriage licenses would have been protected. The theory of the bill was that it was intended to protect the religious liberty of people who do not approve of gay marriage or of gays in general. Public services could be withheld, based on religious convictions.
Companies such as Disney, Salesforce, and athletic organizations had threatened to withdraw their businesses from Georgia to protect their gay employees. If Apple had any business in Georgia, it would surely have left too, since its CEO Tim Cook is gay. There were even concerns that the Super Bowl might be shifted away from Atlanta. Corporations don’t join these protests because they have gay executives, but because they want to be able to hire the talent they need.
There is the additional problem that if states can pass laws saying that people can refuse to serve customers or clients based on their religious principles, then some might choose to discriminate against Catholics, against Jews, against Muslims, or against any group that offends them. Such laws cannot stand and are best not passed, or if passed, quickly vetoed. They will not be upheld by federal courts in any event.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
GA, jes sayin …
As a Social Studies teacher who taught Civics and American Government, I argue the that these subjects need to be mandatory for HS graduation and a requirement (a dream) for public office holders. Stupefying is an understatement.
I’m surprised that they are not required. Way back in the Pleistocene, when I was in high school, we were required to take Civics in order to graduate, as well as American History.
Well, there’s a little problem in modern days. Now that test-score reform has had its way with our nation’s lowest-scoring schools for over a decade, due to our growing focus only upon NCLB subjects (with an additional keep-civil-disobedience-out-of-the-curricula push by reform’s pre-scripted writers), civics is not even an offered subject is many of these schools. ciedieaech.wordpress.com THE BRITISH VERY POSSIBLY ARE NOT COMING
I still do not understand how denying public services to gay individuals “protects” anyone’s “religious freedom”. I am a social studies teacher. I can’t refuse to teach students, no matter what their beliefs or religion, nor would I ever consider doing it.
OK I’m going back 15-20 yrs, but if I can judge based on ‘global’ & ‘American’ history courses my kids took in a liberal hi-priced NJ school district: teachers take this stuff seriously & do what they can w/ the curriculum available– which if memory serves lags the times by 20 yrs or more. I love my district for embracing these young & socially-conscious teachers. Practically this meant minimal, text, supplanted by scads of Xeroxed handouts. This was very difficult for my IEP-changed eldest & he didn’t do well grade-wise. However he was a gifted soul intellectually & morally & learned a great deal.
Businesses in Georgia applied a great deal of pressure in opposition to this backward idea. Coca Cola, an Atlanta landmark, and Georgia’s burgeoning film industry, including the producers of “The Walking Dead,” threatened to leave the state if discrimination became state law. Commerce won over bigotry.
In this case…money talks and b* walks. One good benefit of money. Just one of a few.
‘Bout time Coca-Cola did their part…
Now let’s hope the same can be done to North Carolina.
The last paragraph of the posting highlights the real world consequences that writing such intolerance into law would bring: what happens when the haters find themselves the target of their own special laws?
Then, of course, they suddenly turn into the world’s greatest proponents of tolerance and wonder why everyone else isn’t as outraged as they are.
Bottom line: they can’t understand why their refusal to tolerate the existence of others, and literally trying to enforce them into non-existence, is considered immoral and wrong.
That’s the way I see it…
😎
Threats to reintroduce the bill as a matter of “religious freedom” and to organize support that could override any veto will require more than one shot countering pressure from major corporations who could pick up and leave the state. Many citizens, including the business community, need to leverage their collective power to stop the election in Georgia of the legislators who threaten to keep hammering on the idea that their personal religious beliefs should be the basis for civic affairs and democratic governance–local, state, federal.
Many attacks have been directed against women and their right to family planning. The ultimate goal is to negate Roe V. Wade.
“Corporations don’t join these protests because they have gay executives, but because they want to be able to hire the talent they need.” – No, not at all – corporations want to stay in business. Corporations would be hit in the pocket book, no? How come corporations don’t get behind blowing the whistle loud and hard against phony balogna education reform? Why are corporations not shouting from the rooftops about the takeover of our public schools?
Corporations – they can do some good, as in the case of Georgia – they can do some bad as in the case of education “reform.” How do “we the people” engage like-minded corporations in the fight against corporate reformers?
These cowards, hide behind their dark money and their religion – not everyone is religious. The separation of church and state should be coming into play, without having to file lawsuits, when vouchers are spent on religious schools. And, shame on religious schools for taking all comers — used to be you sent your child to catholic school b/c you wanted the religious experience, joined the parish, etc. Nowadays, countless catholic schools are sitting with their hands out for the voucher cash, and could care less about teaching the religious shebang.
Anyhow, hopefully all over the USA, logic, acceptance, love and tolerance will always win over bigotry, racism, hatred and religious zealots who want to cram their small ideas down everyone’s throats.
You know what the real connection is to the reformers? THE INHERENT DOUBLESPEAK. Up is down, day is night — that discrimination against gays is religious freedom. Hilarity.
“Bubble Speak”
“Bubble speak”
Is cast in a bubble
“Double, double”
Toil and trouble
Is there any doubt that this is ALEC-written legislation that we will now see across the country?