The Governor is backtracking.
In the face of Indiana’s disastrous passage of the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act last April, Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal acknowledged the widespread anger and major financial toll our state would face if lawmakers dared to pass a similar “license to discriminate” law.
At a minimum, Governor Deal vowed that if RFRA were to move forward in the Peach State, it include an inclusive non-discrimination clause ensuring that it could not be used to undermine existing local protections for LGBT Georgians.
But now he’s hedging on his promise, saying he may support RFRA without non-discrimination clauses. The Governor needs to hear from you now.
After Indiana and Arkansas suffered a loss of millions in investment and thousands of jobs, you would think Governor Deal would know better than to risk Georgia’s world-class business reputation by potentially backing a bill that has been proven to lead to discrimination towards gay and transgender people.
But now the Governor is resorting to the same tired and debunked talking points used by RFRA proponents in Indiana and Arkansas, stating that he would consider signing a RFRA bill that did not include a nondiscrimination provision—the only assurance we have that this bill could not be used to water down existing protections for gay and transgender people.
It was just last month when Georgians from across the state came together to stop RFRA from moving forward in 2015. But if we aren’t careful, our opponents will resort to the same dirty tricks and try to ram this same discriminatory bill through the legislature next year.
It’s time to show the Governor that actions speak louder than words, and we are going to keep the pressure on all year long until he assures both the business community and the people of Georgia that discrimination will not be tolerated in the Peach State.
Thank you for taking bold action against a license to discriminate.
SHARE THIS STORY
@GeorgiaUnites