Georgia Governor Warns Lawmakers: Send Me Another ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill and I’ll Veto It Again

GOP Governor Says, ‘I’ve Made My Position Very Clear’ and It’s Not Going to Change

Governor Nathan Deal late last month vetoed a discriminatory anti-gay “religious freedom” bill and in an interview published today warned lawmakers if they send him a similar bill again they’ll get the same response. 

“I don’t want to go through the same process all over again. I’ve made my position very clear. I tried to write a very thoughtful veto message,” the Republican governor of Georgia told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It expressed my concerns and it expressed my reasons for vetoing it. And those reasons won’t change in my mind.”

Deal faced campaigns from both sides, for and against HB 757, the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), but in the end concluded a veto was best for the state and its people. Georgia’s active $1.7 billion film and television industry in particular warned of consequences should the bill become law.

The Georgia governor is far from oblivious to the damage GOP lawmakers in nearby states have wreaked upon themselves and their constituents.

“It’s time to take another deep breath. I see what’s happening in North Carolina. I see what’s happening in Mississippi,” Deal said. “And I would hope that many of the ones that are pushing for it would not want the state of Georgia to go through that kind of scenario.”

Regardless, chances are strong that lawmakers will try again next year, and some Republicans even tested the waters, saying they would try to call for a special session to override Gov. Deal’s veto.

Asked abut the attacks he endured after vetoing the bill, Deal “said the criticism has taken a toll,” the AJC reports.

“Well, I think all of us want to be liked by everybody,” he said. “But when you come to issues like that, you can’t be liked by everybody because people have such divided opinions about something. My job as governor is to do what I think is best in the overall interest of the state of Georgia and its citizens as a whole. And that’s what I did.”

 

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Hat tip: Tee Jay and the Georgia Voice