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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Guess Georgia didn't learn anything from Indiana.

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COMMENTS: 
*  Again another law trying to be past that is painfully broad and is just going to get both sides at each others throats. For the love of Peter how about you morons actually look over your own work before submitting it.
*  When will we be free of religious doctrine?
*  Just for the record, they aren't trying to force any religion to marry anyone in their church that they don't want to, religions and religious leaders already have that protection. However, city and county officials do not have the right to invoke their religion as a reason to deny official services (or make people travel further for them), and that seems to be the main concern with this bill, that it attempts to enshrine in individuals the right to shirk their official duties on the basis of their religion.
*  well, the state cannot force clergy to do anything in the first place. this seems like a back handed attempt by a few homophobic congressmen to spit on SCOTUS and its recent decision regarding SSM. while I may be a straight, white, conservative male, I am also a realist. I personally don't care who wants to marry or sleep together. if it doesn't affect my family, home, finances, or freedom, I don't want to hear about it. it might sound rude, but its the truth.
*  Lots of people seem to be under the mistaken impression that this bill is being opposed on constitutional grounds. I haven't seen anything that says the bill is unlawful. What Disney, Marvel, Coke, the sports teams and a lot of other employers are saying is that if you pass this bill we will take our business elsewhere. They have every right to do that, too.  Turn the state into a theocracy and you'll find you have a lot less people wanting to live and work there. If the people of Georgia want 'religious liberty', so be it. If it brings unemployment and poverty with it, well, that's the choice they made.
*   One of the primary functions of our Constitution is to prevent a "tyranny of the majority" (look it up) where the momentary will of the majority tramples the rights of a minority of our citizens. In our unenlighted past, women were denied the right to vote or to own property, as were African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities. Fortunately, previous Supreme Courts saw the falicy in such distinctions and ruled that laws that discriminate against groups of American citizens violate our Constitution.  Do you enjoy being a tyrant? How will you feel about it when some majority wants to trample your Consitutional rights for no other reason than that they can because they are the majority?
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Disney & Marvel to Georgia: If you pass the "religious liberty" bill, we're gone
By Geek Girl Diva, March 23, 2016

Georgia state politicians may be getting a bit more pushback than they realized over the state legislature's passage of House Bill 757, better known as Georgia's "religious liberty" bill. 

The bill, in short, states "religious officials shall not be required to perform marriage ceremonies in violation of their legal right to free exercise of religion". Even shorter, it's the right to discriminate against any couple seeking marriage.

Gee, I wonder why they need something like that? I'm sure they'd never use it to discriminate against anyone*...
*While the LGBT community is most obviously on the chopping block, the bill is worded so vaguely that even interracial couples or those marrying across religious lines (among others) could be legally discriminated against.
The bill, which is currently awaiting Governor Nathan Deal's signature or veto is similar to another bill recently put before Indiana's Governor Mike Pence and, like the Indiana bill, it's getting a lot of pushback from some pretty big businesses.

For instance, The Walt Disney Co. and Marvel Studios. Both companies let Georgia know they're inclusive companies and they'd be taking their business elsewhere if the bill were to pass. Considering how big a production hub Georgia and particularly Atlanta have become in recent years — Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 is currently in production at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta — that'd be a whole lot of business leaving the state.

In addition to Disney and Marvel, the MPAA, the Human Rights Campaign, Coke, Home Dept and even Georgia's own Falcons and Braves have stated their disapproval of the bill.  With this sort of response, something tells me this backlash is just going to grow.

I have no doubt that there are plenty of other states that would be happy to take the business Georgia might be losing if this bill becomes a law –– the question will be whether Gov. Deal cares more about "religious liberty" and the prejudices of a few or the fiscal health of the state as a whole.

I know what Cap would do.
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