Disney threatens to stop filming in Georgia over religious freedom bill
Georgia
Gov. Nathan Deal’s high-profile veto of a commonsense religious freedom bill
this week came after an overwhelming pressure campaign by some of the world’s
biggest corporations. You could say it was unprecedented if the same scene hadn’t
already played out in Indiana last year.
It
sounds like a "Who's Who" of corporate America: Microsoft,
Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Time/Warner, Twitter, the Atlanta Braves, the
Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta Hawks, the National Football League, AIG, Google,
Disney, Marvel Entertainment, Dell, Dow Chemical, Hilton, Intel,
Intercontinental Hotels, Live Nation Entertainment, Marriott, MailChimp,
Paypal, Salesforce, AMC, Square, Turner, Unilever, Virgin, Yelp, Home Depot,
and Apple.
All
fighting against the religious freedom of natural marriage advocates.
Four
hundred companies threatened the state of Georgia with "taking our
business elsewhere" if Gov. Deal signed the bill into law.
And
they got what they economically coerced the governor to do. Gov. Deal,
after saying he was in no way bowing to pressure, vetoed the
legislation, which sought to protect pastors and church organizations from
discrimination over beliefs about natural marriage.
Georgia
legislators passed the Georgia Religious Freedom Act, which would allow pastors
to refuse to perform same-sex "marriage" ceremonies, and would allow
religious-based groups to make hiring and retention decisions based upon
religious convictions.
Proponents
of the bill say they have a right to sincerely held moral beliefs.
Critics call the bill a "license to discriminate."
Disney
and Marvel Entertainment threatened to film elsewhere. Atlanta is a major
“on location” filming site for Hollywood, with at least 248 film and television
productions shot in Georgia last year alone, pumping $1.7 billion into the
state's economy.
Human
Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin issued a statement calling
for a boycott of Georgia over the religious freedom bill. "We
urge...studios, major corporations, and fair-minded Georgians to continue
speaking out and urging Gov. Deal to veto this heinous piece of legislation.”
Comedy
Dynamics (CD), the nation’s largest independent producers of comedy albums and
specials, protested the bill as well. CD President Brian Volk-Weiss wrotethe governor, advising him to "veto
this bill immediately."
The
National Football League even threatened to withhold consideration of Atlanta for a Super Bowl.
