Governor says changes in works on religious exemptions bill

State Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville, second from left, votes on a bill stating that religious officials don’t have to perform same-sex marriages. Photo by David Goldman, AP.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's governor indicated Monday that changes are coming to a bill exempting opponents of same-sex marriage from government penalty for declining to serve gay couples.

The state's business community is ramping up its opposition to the proposal, and at an event touting the state's booming film and television industry, Gov. Nathan Deal said his office is working with legislative leaders and declined to say whether he supports the Senate-approved version.

"In its current form, it is not finalized yet," Deal said, prompting applause from representatives of the film and television industry gathered in the Capitol.

The measure as approved by the Senate allows individuals and faith-based organizations to decline service to couples based on religious beliefs about marriage. Senate leaders added that language, originally from a separate Senate bill, to a House bill allowing religious officials to decline performing gay marriages.

Opponents warn that the changes to the bill also could extend the legal protection to businesses with faith-based mission statements.

Supporters of the Senate changes said it was intended to prevent religious adoption agencies, schools and other faith-based organizations from losing licenses, state grants, or other government benefits for their religious beliefs about marriage.

In a statement this weekend, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board J. Robert White asked House members to accept the Senate's version.

"All Georgia citizens, organizations and businesses need protection from adverse legislation that would infringe upon their religious beliefs regarding marriage, defined in the Bible as the union of one man and one woman," White said. "It is wrong to accuse persons of discrimination who live and conduct their businesses according to their deeply held religious beliefs."

The bill, approved Friday by the Senate and sent back to the House, has roiled the state's business community and prompted a pushback this weekend.

Business leaders warned in opinion pieces submitted to newspapers and other publications that the proposal could cause an economic backlash comparable to what Indiana experienced after passage of a broader "religious freedom" law in 2015 and jeopardize efforts to bring major events, including the Super Bowl, to Georgia.

"No one in Georgia wants to go through what Indiana experienced," Ronnie Chance, a former state senate Republican leader and director of Georgia Prospers, wrote this weekend in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The coalition of businesses former this year and includes top employers AT&T, Coca Cola, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot and UPS.

 

By Kathleen Foody. PressCopyright 2016 The Associated Press.

The Gayly- 2/22/2016 @ 11:26 AM CST