Discussion
  • Read More
    GeorgeGeoffersonLivesRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:29pm

    This is legit surprising. Isn’t this the first time a GOP governor has vetoed such a thing when it’s reached his desk? I know of a few other instances where a governor was able to do some backroom dealing and kill legislation before it even reached them, but in the event where this has reached GOP governors, this has generally always passed. In the case of Indiana they did some “corrective” legislation, but the governor still initially signed the into law this policy.

    Maybe, just maybe, Indiana was a turning point and others will not want to deal with this headache. Because even in that case, there was a sustained push by the corporate world to keep this shit out of the law.

    EDIT: Just saw Arizona. Forgot about them.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      The Noble RenardGeorgeGeoffersonLives
      3/28/16 12:32pm

      Mike Pence in Indiana.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      MattGeorgeGeoffersonLives
      3/28/16 12:35pm

      I'm guessing Deal is more of a 'free-market' Republican more than a 'religious fundementalist' Republican.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    It takes a nation of millions to elect the corruptRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:17pm

    Let it never be said that fundamentalist Christians really believe their nonsense. Easy way to see this is threaten the money supply.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      ARP2It takes a nation of millions to elect the corrupt
      3/28/16 12:22pm

      Oh, the voters certainly do believe in that stuff; it’s the politicians who don’t and simply use them as a reliable voting block.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      TheBurnersMyDestinationIt takes a nation of millions to elect the corrupt
      3/28/16 12:23pm

      Yup! I said it down thread, but:

      Isn’t funny how these ultra-religious types always choose “money” when it comes to deciding between “God and money”? Right up until this bill was going to loose them some serious cash it was all “this country was founded on Christian values!” and “I have to to what is right between me and God!” but threaten that sweet, sweet Golden Calf of Hollywood money and suddenly everyone goes right back to bowing down to it.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    OtromonoRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:32pm

    It’s a relief to see this vetoed. I’m wondering, however - where is the corporate and celebrity backlash and threats of boycott re: North Carolina? With Indiana last year and now Georgia, it seemed like my social media was saturated with pledges to boycott these states and remove business from them...but I haven’t seen this level of backlash over North Carolina despite the fact that their “religious freedom” law is by far the worst yet.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      GeorgeGeoffersonLivesOtromono
      3/28/16 12:36pm

      I think it’s because for as important as North Carolina has become, Georgia is far more centralized around Atlanta (population, corporations, etc...), so the intensity is just more concentrated. Apart from that, Georgia is also a bit more populous. I kind of imagine that if North Carolina was more of a one-city state, you’d have seen more media and the, more important, the opposition would have been more concentrated, too.

      Or it might just be a coincidence in the types of dominant industry in each, or the kind of events coming up. It seems Hollywood and the NFL were huge in this opposition because of an upcoming event for the later, and the in-state influence of the former given all of the filming that takes place in GA these days.

      Just a guess.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      dpeters11Otromono
      3/28/16 12:43pm

      It may have been the speed of it as well. I’ve never seen a state move with such speed to have a bill introduced, passed in both houses and signed by the Governor all in one day.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Quasar FunkRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:25pm

    The tension was amplified by a steady stream of corporate titans who urged him to veto the bill

    A reminder of who owns the Republican party. Sometimes the Republicans’ owners do good. Not that it’s altruistic, they just want those tastefully decorated gay dollars.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      sunshineonthebay1Quasar Funk
      3/28/16 12:29pm

      It’s certainly a reaction to all the boycott threats by businesses so yes.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      MattQuasar Funk
      3/28/16 12:36pm

      Definitely feeling conflicted, as I know all of this, including the pressure put on by companies has more to do with raking in cash, than doing something out of the goodness of their hearts, but meh, a win is a win is a win.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    AnonymousCivilPersonRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:20pm

    Thanks, Ant Man!

    GIF
    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Flying Squid (I hate me more than you do.)AnonymousCivilPerson
      3/28/16 12:26pm

      That sort of is true. The movie and TV industry has become a huge moneymaker for Georgia and you don’t want to be anti-LGBT when the entertainment industry helps pay the bills.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      slarrisonAnonymousCivilPerson
      3/28/16 12:58pm
      GIF

      You’re welcome.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    barebranchRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:35pm

    After consulting various online resources, it seems that this unfamiliar emotion I am feeling towards my state is something called “pride” — it’s been a looooong time since I can recall having it towards this state.

    I know it may have been (ok, was) motivated by venality and commercial self-interest but at least our leaders are starting to pay lip service to the notion that it’s not cool to allow people to discriminate. Deal may have been (ok, was....fine, is probably still) staggeringly corrupt, but looking back at the last few years some previously unthinkably progressive things have happened here:

    1. Municipalities were allowed by the state to vote on whether they would allow the retail sale of alcohol on Sundays. Look at that sentence again — I’m not saying that you can walk into any grocery store on Sunday and pick up a bottle of wine, only that the state finally lifted a ban on even allowing towns and cities to decide this matter for themselves. You wouldn’t think that’s such a controversial notion, but for years every time it was brought up in the legislature, the Baptist leaders of this state said, literally, “You will have blood on your hands if you let this pass.”

    2. The medicinal weed bill actually made it out of committee — and an expanded version may actually make it to a full vote of the legislature and has a good possibility of passing. What’s even more wacky is that the sponsor is from Middle Georgia — a middle age white dude — not some liberal hippy marxist Atlanta person of color.

    3. Our governor appears to be taking the morally defensible position on this issue.

    Lord knows we still have a lot of work to do in pretty much every area of human welfare in this state but we seem to be ever so slowly slipping into the mid-to-late twentieth century. Huzzah!

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      kc2775barebranch
      3/28/16 12:42pm

      4. They also managed to pass the 3' rule (ie, cars must give cyclist a minimum of 3' when passing). Of course, they can’t make the police enforce it.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Jigglyballbarebranch
      3/28/16 12:49pm

      He also actually took the recommendations of the child welfare study committee, the juvenile justice study committee, and the education reform study committee to heart. He’s def corrupt and I certainly didn’t vote for him, but we have had much, much worse Republican governors.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    SydergaawdRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:21pm

    That’s what happens when you might lose a Super Bowl.

    LONG LIVE THE GOATSE DOME!

    GIF
    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Emerald D.V.Sydergaawd
      3/28/16 12:29pm

      See also Jan Brewer vetoing SB 1062 in Arizona, especially with the history of Arizona losing a Super Bowl over not recognizing MLK Day.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      SydergaawdEmerald D.V.
      3/28/16 12:32pm

      Yep. Sports wield a mighty hammer when it comes to fucking with their money.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    butcherbakertoiletrymakerRich Juzwiak
    3/28/16 12:21pm

    I was looking for the key to this and I found it:

    two-term governor.

    If this guy was running for re-election, he’d sign that bill faster than you can say flibbertygibbit.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      AcrobackRich Juzwiak
      3/28/16 12:56pm

      They actually have to say “sincerely held” in all of their statements to truly enjoy the Christian-slanted religious protection. If it weren’t for that, they know that people would “convert” to Rastafarianism en masse. This is their way of building up a bulwark against such an event ever happening.

      Fuck these guys.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        HeyRich Juzwiak
        3/28/16 1:47pm

        “No one wants to take anyone’s religion away”

        Really? If I’m a wedding photographer I should have the right to deny my services to anyone for any reason and not have to worry about getting sued or shamed over it. It’s a slippery slope from “compromise your beliefs on this one issue” to “hey, religion just gets in the way, we don’t need it”.

        Reply
        <
        • Read More
          DoobyOneHey
          3/28/16 1:54pm

          Nope, bigots deserve shame and derision.

          Reply
          <
        • Read More
          BmacILHey
          3/28/16 1:58pm

          The slope goes the other way, too.

          Also, how does photographing a gay couple’s marriage compromise your beliefs? They’re not very strong beliefs, if it does.

          Reply
          <