Posted on 03/22/2016 8:03:30 AM PDT by reaganaut1
ATLANTA — The Georgia General Assembly’s approval of a proposal to strengthen legal protections for opponents of same-sex marriage has set in motion a high-stakes showdown that has drawn some of the nation’s most influential companies into a battle between gay rights activists and religious conservatives.
The bill, which lawmakers approved on Wednesday, now faces the scrutiny of Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican. But it is clear that companies and sports organizations, including Apple, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines and the National Football League, will have a significant effect on public debate and the governor’s decision to sign or veto the measure.
The face-off playing out here in the Deep South’s most visible city, where residents are often at odds with a largely rural state, is poised to emerge as one of the most consequential tests of political power on gay rights issues since the United States Supreme Court decision last summer that recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
Supporters of the bill, which Georgia lawmakers named the Free Exercise Protection Act, say it is a bulwark against pressure for people of many religious faiths to endorse, or at least accept, same-sex marriage.
“The leadership that’s been shown by the Georgia General Assembly leads the nation in dealing with the definition of marriage,” State Senator Greg Kirk, a Republican and a sponsor of the bill, said before the Senate’s final vote last week. “When the Supreme Court changed the definition of marriage, dynamics changed. There was a need for a law — for this law.”
But to the proposal’s opponents, the bill is a toxic mix of intolerant ideas that was fueled by resistance to the Supreme Court’s decision.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Whenever these bills are passed, the gay lobby and some businesses pressure the governor. Are there any states where the governor has signed such a religious freedom bill into law?
“Business to play key role”
meaning, bought, paid-for, crony-capitalists belonging to the progressive-left social-engineering new world order.
Tell them to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.
Nathan Deal a former Democrat turned RINO has no spine. He will veto this legislation.
I should certainly hope so. Business people who have to live in the real world are more to be trusted than politicians who live in a fantasy bubble.
SCOTUS didn't recognize any such right, they invented it.
I thought the Left didn’t like business involving themselves in politics. They’re not persons after all, right? /sarc
Correct. The Supreme Court has become the most powerful branch of government combining the legislative, executive and judicial powers of government on issues the elites in the other branches agree with but know their constituents do not.
All of these converts to the GOP starting in the 1990s have for the most part been useless.
Instead of the tail wagging the dog, the proper response ought to be for alleged "victims" to open their own bakeries, photography salons, etc. If the government refuses a license based on the nature of their "product" then they have an actionable complaint.
Otherwise, the government is not designed or intended to enable them by force of law to impose their unique cultural practices and values on the larger portion of society.
Nathan Deal has been a major effing disappointment here in GA. He is basically just worthless.
You’d think Southern states such as Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina wouldn’t elect liberal Republicans, yet the GOP-e’s rot permeates even the most conservative regions.
If you respect traditional marriage, then the NFL wants nothing to do with you!
They should tell the NFL to shove it and take their precious Super Bowl somewhere else. I do not get my moral bearings from the NFL.
I thought the converts started during the Regan year’s but took full swing during the 90’s especially after the 94 elections?
I just don’t see how a person has a right to force a private business to service or sell to them.
OtOH,the DOJ ruled that Muslim truck drivers have the right to refuse to make beer deliveries. Someone filmed Muslim bakeries refusing to bake wedding cakes for gays, but they weren’t sued.
The present bill doesn’t even protect bakers or florists. It might keep the Knights of Columbus safe from renting out their hall for a gay wedding - if the governor actually signed the bill, which he won’t.
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