Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday vetoed a so-called “religious freedom” bill that critics called anti-gay.
The Republican governor announced his intention Monday morning at a short press conference and took no questions.
The bill, Deal said, “doesn’t reflect the character of our state or the character of its people.”
“I have examined the protections that this bill proposes to provide to the faith based community and I can find no examples of any of those circumstances occurring in our state.” Deal said, adding, “I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia.”
The bill would have allowed clergy to refuse to perform same-sex marriages, in addition to adding protections for people who refused to attend the ceremonies for religious reasons. Churches and affiliated religious groups could have also declined to serve or hire someone based on their faith, per the bill’s provisions.
Critics of the bill — which was passed by Republican majorities earlier this month — said it allowed for discrimination and would nix provisions passed in the state to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Executives from dozens of big companies, including Walt Disney, Coca-Cola and the NFL, threatened to pull their businesses from Georgia. A number of Hollywood celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Julianne Moore, Seth MacFarlane and Aaron Sorkin, sent Deal a letter last week urging him to veto the bill.
