Georgia Baptists Condemn Deal's 'Religious Liberty' Veto

DULUTH, GA -- Georgia Baptists are angry about Gov. Nathan Deal's veto of a "religious liberty" bill condemned as anti-gay by its detractors.

In a statement Wednesday, the Duluth-based Georgia Baptist Convention said the veto is part of a culture in which Christians "are not given the ability to live out their faith in the public square" and are "even bullied" due to their faith.

"Georgia Baptists across the state have been praying for this protection for three years," J. Robert White, Executive Director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said in the statement. "While we respect the governor, it is unfortunate that he has chosen to veto protections for people of faith in Georgia."

Approved by the Georgia House and Senate, House Bill 757 would have, among other things, allowed faith-based groups to deny services and terminate employees based on sexual orientation.

It also stipulated that no member of the clergy can be required to perform a same-sex wedding.

After an avalanche of criticism from the business community, particularly Georgia's booming television and film industry, Deal announced Monday that he would veto the bill.

"This is about the character of our state and people," Deal said Monday. "Georgia is full of loving, kind and generous people, who choose to worship God in their own way."

But the Baptist Convention, which represents Southern Baptists churches from across the state, expressed disappointment in Deal's decision.

"As Christians we are obligated to love all people daily and share the Gospel, while at the same time, we should not be discriminated against because of our beliefs, nor forced to support any and all messages in today's progressive culture," the statement reads. "This is why religious protections have been enacted at the federal level and in over 30 other states."

Earlier this week, a Gwinnett County lawmaker who supported the bill said Deal's veto could drive Christians away from the Republican Party.

"I would not at all be shocked to see Christians abandon the Republican Party in droves," Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville, said on Facebook. "They asked for simple protections along the lines of the Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which does not apply to state government action and has never been used to discriminate against anyone, and for the third year in a row they have been denied."

Deal is a Republican. Since Monday, members of his own party have discussed the possibility of a calling a special session of the legislature to try to override his veto.

Deal had come under increasingly heavy pressure to veto the measure, most notably from the film and television industry which has become a multi-billion-dollar business in Georgia.

AMC, which airs and produces the primarily Georgia-lensed "The Walking Dead," joined an entertainment-industry chorus calling for Deal to veto the proposal.Disney and its Marvel Studios also said they would stop filming movies in Georgia if Deal signed the bill.

All of Atlanta's professional sports franchises -- the Braves, Falcons and Hawks -- came out against the measure, as did Georgia business big-wigs including UPS, Home Depot and Cox Communications.