Yay, Georgia!

It's not every day we have the opportunity to praise the Republicans, but Georgia's Republican Governor Nathan Deal vetoed the nasty bill from the Georgia legislature that would have allowed religious folk in Georgia to discriminate against others based on their religious beliefs. 

This is a rare moment of sanity from an otherwise crazy Republican Party.  And the Georgia legislature has let it be known that they will not attempt to override the Governor's veto. Imagine that.

Then again, Deal probably vetoed the bill because of all the pressure from business groups saying do NOT sign that bill, you dumbass.

The end does not justify the means, but, at the same time, whatever it takes.

The Georgia state flag from 1956-2001

Georgia's Governor Sets a Wise Example for Tolerance

On Monday morning (March 28, 2016), Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, wisely rejected the latest effort, announcing that he would veto House Bill 757, which would allow businesses and nonprofit groups, including those that receive taxpayer funds, to discriminate not only against same-sex couples, but also against interracial, interfaith and even unmarried couples if they claimed their actions were based on their religious views.

Mr. Deal’s decision was a welcome dose of levelheadedness and tolerance on the heels of the awful North Carolina law approved last week, which bars transgender people from using public restrooms that match their gender identity and prohibits cities from passing antidiscrimination ordinances protecting gay and transgender people.

The Georgia bill was one of the most aggressive versions of a type of discriminatory legislation that has gained favor among Republicans in Congress and statehouses around the country since the Supreme Court’s decision last year legalizing same-sex marriage.

“I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia,” Mr. Deal said in a statement. The veto, he said, will reaffirm “the character of our state and the character of its people,” whom he described as “warm, friendly and loving.”

The prospect of broad economic consequences to Georgia was also surely an important factor in the governor’s decision. From the start, the bill came under intense attack from a coalition of hundreds of top companies based in Georgia or doing business there, including Coca-Cola, Delta, Google, Disney and Apple. The National Football League said it might reject Georgia’s bid to host the Super Bowl, and major movie and television studios — which last year spent about $1.7 billion filming in the state — said they would take their productions elsewhere. On Sunday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that two business deals might have already fallen through as a result of the bill.

Original.