CONNECT
ATLANTA – The Georgia House voted this evening to advance an amended version of HB 757, the broad License to Discriminate legislation which provoked widespread national backlash when it passed the Senate last month. The amended version of the legislation allows faith-based, taxpayer-funded organizations to deny critical services or even employment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and others based on a wide range of religious beliefs, not simply those related to marriage equality. For example, soup kitchens could turn away a single mother and her three children, or a homeless shelter could turn away LGBT youth.
The revised legislation also includes a new religious exemptions component which stands to undermine existing local nondiscrimination ordinances already on the books across the state. These dangerous new provisions could allow individuals and organizations to pick and choose which laws they want to follow, in the process threatening the enforcement of laws meant to protect public health, religious minorities, children, victims of domestic abuse, LGBT Georgians and others.
Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, issued the following statement through the Georgia Unites coalition:
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen an unprecedented chorus of unexpected allies come together to speak out against HB 757, the License to Discriminate. Conservatives, legal experts, people of faith, businesses and more than 75,000 Georgians expressed their strong opposition to legislation which threatens our state’s economy and reputation, and which very clearly singles out LGBT people and others for harm. It’s shameful that lawmakers in the House ignored this feedback and, rather than taking steps to mitigate any potential fallout, actually made a bad bill worse.
“Make no mistake about it – this is legislation that singles out LGBT Georgians, single mothers, religious minorities and so many others for discrimination. This bill will have immediate and severe consequences for our state.
“Governor Deal spoke in very eloquent terms about his opposition to HB 757 earlier this month, and I hope the governor understands that this amended legislation is worse than the previous version he spoke out about. The HB 757 which passed the House tonight will undoubtedly harm our economy and our state’s reputation. Governor Deal should hold true to his earlier opposition and veto this harmful, discriminatory bill.”
Some of the world’s largest and most influential companies do business in Georgia. They are critical to the economy, revving the engines of innovation and providing jobs to millions. But if discriminatory so-called “religious freedom” bills become law, the economic fallout could be catastrophic.
State agencies have estimated that our state would lose billions in revenue to the tourism industry alone. Highly-innovative, highly-profitable companies are already threatening to leave Georgia in favor of states that don’t discriminate. And entertainment insiders have said the industry—competing with cutting edge places like Los Angeles and New York—would all but bottom-out.
In short, Georgia businesses are concerned, and they’re speaking out.
Salesforce CEO, Marc Benioff, led the forceful business opposition front when he drew the national spotlight to Georgia in the wake of last month’s hasty Senate vote to pass the discriminatory First Amendment Defense Act (FADA). Since then, he has threatened significant reductions in the company’s economic investment in the state:
“We’re looking squarely at what’s going on in Georgia with House Bill 757, which means that we may have to reduce our investments in the state of Georgia based on what we’re seeing with the state government there … We will deliver a rolling thunder of economic sanctions against the state, in this case Georgia, which is waging a war against LGBT people.”
Salesforce lists Atlanta among its top-5 U.S. employment centers and is one of Georgia’s fastest-growing tech companies. If it divests from the state because of unnecessary and discriminatory so-called “religious freedom” legislation, hardworking Georgians will bear the brunt of the burden.
After Benioff’s unequivocal denouncement of anti-LGBT bills like FADA, other major Georgia companies were fast to join the ranks. Earlier this month, Delta CEO Ed Bastian added his voice to the chorus of business opposition and announced his allegiance to Governor Deal, who has said he would reject any discriminatory “religious freedom” bills on basis of his own religious values. In a statement, Bastian said:
“With a diverse workforce that includes more than 30,000 employees across Georgia, we fully support Governor Deal rejecting a bill, including Bill 757, that would do anything other than uphold equality and ensure Georgia remains a welcoming state for everyone.”
Delta employs more than 30,000 Georgians and makes Atlanta a major travel hub. Again, who would pay the price for state-sanctioned discrimination? Hardworking Georgians, tens of thousands of whom will be out of work if Delta leaves the state.
The corporate leadership of Unilever, Virgin Airlines, Dell and Microsoft have also raised their voices against these discriminatory bills.
Full support @Benioff . Great leadership once more in standing up for what is right. https://t.co/He4lKU3B7a
— Paul Polman (@PaulPolman) February 27, 2016
I agree and proud @SecureWorks joined against Georgia Bill that Shields Discrimination Against Gays https://t.co/QHcpCqDEmo HT @Benioff
— Michael Dell (@MichaelDell) February 27, 2016
Georgia must stop discrimination in the name of religious freedom https://t.co/E9R9ueejJr
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 27, 2016
We agree with the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce on keeping Georgia a great place to do business. #HB757 https://t.co/8q9uZKxPUf
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) February 28, 2016
It’s not just big companies that are worried—it’s small businesses too. A Decatur telecom company, 373K, is leaving Georgia because of FADA and the rash of similar religious exemptions bills currently under consideration at the Capitol. The company’s owner Kelvin Williams, who is gay, says he has serious concerns about being able to hire and retain top talent if FADA passes:
“It makes no sense. It’s absolutely unnecessary. We are a startup and we are trying to get the best talent we can. And I don’t want to be in a state where it is hard to attract the best talent. Before I plant my roots any further, we have decided to leave.”
Lisa Calhoun, a partner at Atlanta-based Valor Ventures, which provides tech startup capital, wrote in the Atlanta Business Chronicle that allowing businesses to discriminate would imperil good business relationships:
“I was surprised to learn the Georgia legislature is considering a law that would allow people to turn customers away. … A free market economy is only free if both sides of the market can choose. The customer gets to choose who she gives her business to. But to be able to do that, the customer can’t be randomly barred.”
Georgia’s hospitality and tourism industry, which has a $53.6 billion economic footprint, is also strongly against these so-called “religious freedom” bills. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which owns 17 Georgia hotels, recently wrote a letter to Governor Nathan Deal urging him not to sign any bills that would allow businesses to discriminate. Atlanta’s Dragon Con festival, which draws more than 70,000 visitors annually, has vowed not to work with any business partners that discriminate. Grant Hill, co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks—which brought in $30 million in tickets last year—has also spoken out against FADA and RFRA.
Meanwhile, the entertainment industry, whose yearly economic impact in Georgia is estimated to be $6 billion, is also having doubts about establishing Georgia as a major production hub, according to digital entertainment executive Brian Tolleson. His company Bark Bark works with TV, film and advertising clients from New York to Los Angeles:
“This very assembly working on this bill has invested billions of taxpayer dollars growing an industry that would leave this state. The powers that be in the industry really want to defeat Georgia’s rise as entertainment destination. And we’re handing it to them on a silver platter.”
Just earlier this year, Governor Deal pushed for tax credits to the tune of a quarter billion dollars to fund Georgia’s film industry and help build the state’s brand as the Hollywood of the south. He justified the astronomical investments by citing the number of jobs the industry would create and the influx of new revenue to Georgia’s economy. If lawmakers pass anti-LGBT legislation that causes the film industry to divest from Georgia, not only will much-needed jobs and revenue be slashed, taxpayers will be out the quarter billion dollar investment that Governor Deal promised would pay off.
In short, Georgia companies across a diverse range of industries clearly fear so-called “religious freedom” legislation. Bills like FADA and RFRA make our state look like a risky place to do business. They make us look unwelcoming to talented entrepreneurs, employees, and companies who might be thinking of expanding or relocating.
Every day that legislators continue to consider writing discrimination into Georgia’s laws, they are are putting our economy at severe risk. More than 400 companies—including Fortune 500 heavyweights like Delta, Coca-Cola, and Home Depot—have joined Georgia Prospers, a coalition making the business case for inclusion and diversity as cornerstones for economic prosperity—and denouncing state-sanctioned discrimination.
CLICK HERE to read the original op-ed on AJC.
By Jason Collins and Ashland Johnson
The sports world has little patience for bad decisions or poor sportsmanship. A few clutch mistakes can get athletes pulled from the game. When competitors mess up big enough to embarrass the team or league, they get fined or pulled from the roster all together.
Atlanta, one of the major players in the sports world, could be alarmingly close to making one of those pivotal mistakes. And accordingly, Georgia might be “benched.”
Right now, some Georgia lawmakers are trying to pass what would essentially be a license to discriminate. The so-called “religious freedom” bill, the First Amendment Defense Act, or FADA, has already passed the Senate. If the bill becomes law, it will allow widespread discrimination against marginalized communities in Georgia, particularly LGBT people.
As former athletes and former residents of Georgia, this is deeply concerning that Georgia is even considering passing such a discriminatory law. Georgia residents already face heightened discrimination because there are no statewide protections for LGBT people. Passing a discriminatory law will not only hurt vulnerable Georgians, but it will inflame the broader sports community.
Georgia is a sports powerhouse in terms of professional and college sports. Further, Atlanta is slated to host the NCAA Final Four in 2020. Atlanta is also in the running as a host city for the 2019 and/or 2020 Super Bowls, to be decided this May. The Super Bowl alone is estimated to bring in nearly $400 million to the game’s host.
But making a mistake like passing FADA would force the sports community to once again ask: should the athletic community invest in a state that so clearly fails to uphold the basic values of good sportsmanship?
Last year, Indiana, another major player in the sports world, made one of these costly mistakes. Indiana passed a license to discriminate bill similar to FADA. Indiana was the planned location of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball championship. Fair-minded basketball fans spoke up about the anti-LGBT legislation. Final Four teams spoke up. Athletes spoke up. Athlete Ally led the Final Four Fairness campaign. And the NCAA itself, NCAA teams, and business leaders banded together to put pressure on Indiana’s governor to fix the anti-LGBT legislation to ensure LGBT people had protections.
In 2014, Arizona considered passing a law also similar to FADA. Arizona was the planned location of the 2015 Super Bowl. Fans and leagues were appalled by this proposed discriminatory law. The NFL spoke up, and Arizona’s governor vetoed the bill. The 2015 Super Bowl threat was largely credited with this victory for fairness and equality.
Even the NCAA has weighed in on the impact of discriminatory laws on championship games. Last year, the NCAA said that a city or state’s non-discrimination laws will be a factor in their decision-making process for the next Final Four tournaments.
The message is clear: passing one of these discriminatory laws is a mistake that, in the sports world, can get you benched. Georgia should learn from these recent lessons.
Sports teach us to treat everyone with respect, to value fairness and equality. By passing a discriminatory law like FADA, Georgia lawmakers would be promoting values inconsistent with the values of sports. Rightfully, this move will call into question Georgia’s suitability to host major sports events.
The sports community has already shown that we will not sit idly by when major sports events are located in states that do not play by the rules of equality and fairness. And leagues, teams, and athletes will not hesitate to use their collective voices to “bench” any state that votes for legal discrimination of any kind.
CLICK HERE to read the full article on the AJC.
By Aaron Gould Sheinin
Republican House members on Thursday took turns blasting the public affairs director for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board for comparing them to Hitler for failing to move so-called religious liberty legislation.
In an update written for the Christian Index last week, Mike Griffin, who is also the Baptists’ lobbyist at the Capitol, wrote : “We must not let the government do to us what Hitler did to the pastors and churches of his day. He got them to accept this protection from government action if they would agree to stay out of government. He basically said, you take care of the church and leave government to me. Pastors, this is happening before our eyes today.”
That language, a copy of which was obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was later removed from the post, but not before it was passed around by lawmakers in the past 24 hours.
Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, said Griffin is comparing lawmakers to the “most despicable person ever to walk this Earth.”
“I’m ashamed this man is walking around this Capitol with a badge claiming he represents me and my faith,” Kelley said and demanded an apology.
Griffin, who was at the Capitol while lawmakers spoke, said there’s nothing to apologize for.
“All we were doing was making a historical reference,” Griffin said. “Look at the article and its context. It’s simply a call to pastors for their help a call for them not to be silent.”
It was not, he said, an “accusation against anybody or group of individuals.”
He later removed the language, he said, because “we don’t want to miscommunicate that to anyone.”
“Again, to show we’re not trying to divert attention away from the issue,” Griffin said. “We want the attention to stay on the issue. That was written as a call to action.”
Rep. Dominic Lariccia, R-Douglas, one of the most socially conservative members of the House, said he refused to mention out loud who Griffin compared them to.
“I’m going to mention Mike Griffin’s name,” Lariccia said. “I hope that my life says a lot more about who Jesus is to me then any words that I can publish or any words that come out of my mouth.”
Lawmakers and activists have been in a tug-of-war all year over legislation that supporters say protects religious Georgians right to practice their faith and that opponents say would legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
With just seven days left in the 2016 legislative session, tempers are starting to fray.
CLICK HERE to read the original op-ed on AJC.
By Aaron Gould Sheinin
An incendiary column on a religious website comparing Georgia lawmakers to Adolf Hitler has threatened to derail negotiations over “religious liberty” legislation just days before lawmakers go home for the year.
In a legislative update written last week for the Christian Index, Mike Griffin, the public affairs director for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, wrote that progress had stalled on the so-called religious liberty bills that religious conservatives have advocated for more than two years. This particular episode comes as the Senate has repeatedly passed bills that please religious conservatives only to see them stall in the House.
“We must not let the government do to us what Hitler did to the pastors and churches of his day,” Griffin wrote. “He got them to accept this protection from government action if they would agree to stay out of government. He basically said, you take care of the church and leave government to me. Pastors, this is happening before our eyes today.”
State lawmakers on Thursday took turns blasting Griffin, who was at the Capitol in his role as the Baptists’ lobbyist. While the rhetoric in the House was heated, the long-term impact of Griffin’s words could be that it sets back negotiations over the bills before the legislative session ends March 24.
The language referring to Hitler, a copy of which was obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was later removed from the post, but not before it zipped through lawmakers’ cellphones and email accounts. By Thursday morning, a bipartisan parade of lawmakers were ready to denounce Griffin and his writings.
+ Ga. ‘religious liberty’ bill in peril after advocate speaks of Hitler photo
Bob Andres
The Rev. Mike Griffin, the public affairs director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, recently wrote in support of “religious liberty” … read more
State Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, said Griffin is comparing lawmakers to the “most despicable person ever to walk this Earth.”
“I’m ashamed this man is walking around this Capitol with a badge claiming he represents me and my faith,” said Kelley, who demanded an apology.
Griffin told the AJC there’s nothing to apologize for.
“All we were doing was making a historical reference,” Griffin said. “Look at the article and its context. It’s simply a call to pastors for their help, a call for them not to be silent.”
It was not, he said, an “accusation against anybody or group of individuals.”
He later removed the language, he said, because “we don’t want to miscommunicate that to anyone.”
“Again, to show we’re not trying to divert attention away from the issue,” Griffin said. “We want the attention to stay on the issue. That was written as a call to action.”
Later Thursday, the Baptist Mission Board released a statement that said Griffin’s words were a call to pastors not to make the same mistake churches in Germany made when they refused to stand up for their faith against the government’s discrimination against Jews and some Christians.
“It is impossible to understand the content of the article, unless one understands that it was not directed at the General Assembly, but a call to action for pastors based on church history,” the statement said. “We sincerely regret any misunderstanding of the intent of this article or its historical context. We should all rightly be held accountable for what we say, but not for what we do not say.”
The damage, however, was already done.
State Rep. Paul Battles, R-Cartersville, attends First Baptist Church of Cartersville, where the editor of the Christian Index, Gerald Harris, once served as interim pastor.
“What has happened has put a scar on our (Baptist) convention,” Battles said from the floor of the House, adding that Griffin “may need to be pruned.”
State Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, said he’s a different kind of Baptist, but he wanted to stand with his colleagues. Yet, he warned all sides to be careful.
“Let’s not fall into the abyss that’s forming in this country,” he said. “Common decency must become the rule of the day again. We must be decent. We must say decent things. We must respect institutions.”
Lawmakers and activists have been in a tug of war for more than a year over legislation that supporters say protects religious Georgians’ right to practice their faith and that opponents say would legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
With just seven days left in the 2016 legislative session, tempers are starting to fray.
The House earlier this year passed House Bill 757, the so-called Pastor Protection Act, which would make clear no member of the clergy could be forced to perform a same-sex wedding ceremony. While many believed it unnecessary, HB 757 passed the House overwhelmingly.
In the Senate, however, it was amended to include the First Amendment Defense Act, a proposal that says no individual or faith-based organization could be forced to serve anyone with whom they disagree with on a religious basis.
That bill is currently before the House, but Speaker David Ralston and Gov. Nathan Deal have said they do not favor any bill that would legalize discrimination. On Thursday, Ralston said Griffin’s comments make compromise much more difficult.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to come to a resolution that will be reasonably acceptable to everyone who has an interest on the issue,” he said. “It makes it extremely tough when you have these kinds of horrible comments. It really taints the dialogue. It makes it tough.”
CLICK HERE to read the original article on GeorgiaPol.
A bipartisan group of Georgia legislators took to the House well this morning to condemn the statements of Georgia Mission Board lobbyist Mike Griffin in a blog post in the Christian Index. Before being edited, the post stated that:
We must not let the government do to us what Hitler did to the pastors and churches of his day. He got them to accept his protection from government action if they would agree to stay out of government. He basically said, you take care of the church and leave government to me.
Rep. Trey Kelley of Cedartown was the first to speak, saying he was ashammed of Griffin, and asking him to apologize to every member of the legislature for his comparison of the legislature to Hitler. Other legislators, including Dominick LaRiccia, Mandi Ballinger, and Terry England continued the complaints against Griffin, which one long-time third floor lobbyist said was the longest the House had ever gone in referencing a lawmaker from the House floor.
Speaking to reporters as the House started a lunch break, Speaker Ralston said he began hearing about the post late last night when he received calls from lawmakers. The Speaker said he was sickened by the remarks, and indicated that the incident makes it more difficult to come up with a solution on the religious liberty debate.
The whole debate on this issue has gotten out of hand. I think his comments and what he said were beyond the pale. I think it’s despicable. I think it’s deplorable. On behalf of the House of Representatives, I was extremely sickened that someone would compare this legislative body to Hitler and Hitler’s Germany.
I think this should reinforce the point I’ve been making all along that we should be civil. We need to be reasonable in our discussions. What I would suggest that Mr. Griffin tell his readers is that maybe they need to listen to their preachers and read their bibles more and listen to talk radio less.
For his part, Griffin said that his post was a call to pastors for their help in alerting their congregations to the religious liberty issue, and that the reaction by the House members was overblown. Griffin says he stands on the statement regarding the historical accuracy of the context of the church in Germany, which he said was the only group specifically mentioned in the article. When Griffin was told that Rep. Kelley had asked for an apology, Griffin said that none was due since the context of the article was misinterpreted by the legislators.
A new report from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) shows that roughly two-thirds of Georgians support laws that would bar LGBT discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation. Additionally, most Georgians oppose laws that would allow small businesses and others to discriminate.
In “A Profile of Georgia Residents’ Attitudes on LGBT Issues,” PRRI compiles findings from the 2015 American Values Atlas that show strong majorities of Georgians, regardless of their politics, religious affiliation, race or other characteristics, want to see their LGBT friends, neighbors and coworkers protected from discrimination.
This support is especially pronounced among young Georgians: 78% of Georgians under 30 support nondiscrimination protections and 64% of young Georgians (18-29) oppose religious exemptions for small businesses.
Support for non-discrimination protections cuts across the urban and rural divide. In metro Atlanta—the only city in the state with a local non-discrimination ordinance—72% of people support non-discrimination laws. Even more significantly, a majority of people outside of Atlanta (59%) also support non-discrimination laws. Even in areas without non-discrimination ordinances, most people agree that discrimination is wrong, and the law should reflect that.
Support for discrimination protections cuts across political lines too, with most Democrats, Republicans and independents who were surveyed saying they favor non-discrimination protections. From the report:
Nondiscrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals enjoy bipartisan agreement in Georgia. Roughly three-quarters of Democrats (74%), about two-thirds (68%) of independents, and nearly six in ten (59%) Republicans favor nondiscrimination laws for LGBT people.
Fringe lawmakers who oppose non-discrimination laws claim they’re working to protect faith communities—but the communities themselves feel no need for such protection, and in fact strongly support protecting LGBT Georgians from discrimination. Nearly three-quarters of Catholic Georgians (73%) support nondiscrimination laws for LGBT people, as do two-thirds of white Protestants (67%) and black Protestants (65%), and a majority of evangelical Protestants (54%). Approximately two-thirds of black Protestants (66%) and Catholics (63%) oppose allowing businesses to discriminate, as do 53% of white protestants.
These numbers show that although many conservative lawmakers in Georgia remain opposed to non-discrimination laws, vast majorities of their most active constituent groups want to see LGBT Georgians protected from discrimination.
More than 300 clergy have now joined the coalition Clergy United Against Discrimination and pledged their defiant opposition to the rash of religious exemptions bills currently under consideration in Georgia, saying they’re unnecessary and would cause more harm than good.
Ultimately, the so-called “religious freedom” bills—eight of which were circulating the Capitol at one point this year—would open the door to LGBT discrimination in the state of Georgia under the guise of protecting freedoms that are already well safeguarded by both the Constitution of the United States and Georgia’s state constitution.
In short, members of Georgia’s faith communities don’t think their religious freedom needs further protecting. And they certainly don’t support legislation that purports to advance religious liberties at the price of LGBT discrimination.
Until recently, it seemed lawmakers were content ignoring the voices of the very people whose rights they purport to be protecting.
Then late last week, Governor Nathan Deal gave his most definitive statement on the religious freedom debate to date. Himself a devout Baptist, Gov. Deal cited his faith as a primary reason why he would reject any legislation that would give the perception that Georgia allows discrimination:
What the New Testament teaches us is that Jesus reached out to those who were considered the outcasts, the ones that did not conform to the religious societies’ view of the world.
I hope that we can all just take a deep breath, recognize that the world is changing around us, and recognize that it is important that we protect fundamental religious beliefs. But we don’t have to discriminate against other people in order to do that.
Today, a small group of these faith leaders from across the state held a press conference at the Capitol to thank Governor Deal for his admirable leadership on this divisive issue.
“As a pastor & Christian I want to thank @GovernorDeal for his discipleship and example” Rev McGinnis pic.twitter.com/s6tWfzUarb
— Georgia Equality (@GAEquality) March 8, 2016
“We don’t need other laws to protect our religious liberties.” Rev Josh Noblitt #gapol
— Georgia Equality (@GAEquality) March 8, 2016
Rabbi Heller: I come today with a special gratitude for @GovernorDeal The people owe him a debt of gratitude #gapol pic.twitter.com/JYvpcfILFl
— Georgia Equality (@GAEquality) March 8, 2016
For many Georgians, like Governor Deal, their faith doesn’t detract from their support for LGBT non-discrimination—it very much informs it.
In a Huffington Post blog, Baptist Reverend Timothy McDonald wrote, “Many faiths, including my own, teach that we should fight for the oppressed.” He went on to call lawmakers’ use of religion as a weapon for legislative assaults against gay and transgender Georgians an “insult” to his faith principles.
For other faith leaders, like Rabbi Peter Berg of the Temple of Atlanta, LGBT non-discrimination is important for protecting his gay and transgender congregants from unfair treatment and harm. It’s not a political issue at all—it’s just “the right thing to do.”
Across the board, leaders from every faith denomination agree that religious freedom is not under threat. In fact, Reverend Alyssa Aldape of the First Baptist Church of Dalton expressed concern that “religious freedom” bills would actually blur the line between church and state, thereby undermining the iron-clad protections currently outlined in the Constitution. In other words, the very legislation lawmakers’ insist is designed to increase religious protections could have the exact opposite effect.
The fact is support for LGBT non-discrimination protections are at an all-time high—while support for religious exemptions that allow for discrimination are at a low. As clergy emphasized at today’s press event, if lawmakers truly have the best interest of Georgia’s faith communities at heart, they should “push for comprehensive civil rights legislation that protects all Georgians from discrimination.”
Now is the time for legislators to examine their faiths, reach across the aisle, and protect the liberties of all Georgians.
@GeorgiaUnitesWe were so grateful to be able to profile Rachel last year. Her story is inspiring and it's sad to see her treated unfairly. Thank you Rachel for standing up for yourself! bit.ly/2VTK7j3