Georgia Governor Nathan Deal vetoed the state’s controversial “religious liberty” bill Monday, in hopes of increasing the chances of Atlanta hosting the Super Bowl in either 2019 or 2020.
The “religious liberty” bill, which was widely not accepted by many corporations including Disney, would have allowed clergy to refuse performing gay marriages and protect people who refuse to attend the ceremonies. Churches and affiliated religious groups could also decline to serve or hire someone based on their beliefs.
“I have examined the protections that this bill proposes to provide to the faith based community and I can find no examples of any of those circumstances occurring in our state. I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia,” said the governor after rejecting the bill.
Back on March 18th, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy released a statement indicating that the bill would jeopardize Atlanta’s chances of hosting a Super Bowl.
The statement also reads that the “NFL policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard. Whether the laws and regulations of a state and local community are consistent with these policies would be one of many factors NFL owners may use to evaluate potential Super Bowl host sites.”
The Falcons are in the process of building a new, $1.4 billion stadium, that is set to open next summer.
While some may agree or disagree with the bill, clearly Governor Deal realized that the overall benefit outweighed the Republican beliefs.
Source: ESPN
