HB 757 Information - A BILL To Be Entitled An Act To Protect Religious Freedoms (Atlanta: 2014, calculation)

[Staysean23]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

I will probably get an infarction for typing this but I think a church has every right to refuse to wed same sex partners. And if they do then go find someplace that does. They already approved same sex marriages...when will the gay community be satisfied?

And the companies have every right to pull out from GA. The church is not excempt from following the laws of the land. People like you is the reason why this bill is in the surface.

[arjay57]

It would certainly lose a lot of credibility as a fair and sensible place.

I have never heard of Georgia preachers being forced to marry anybody they didn't want to.

So why is the government sticking its big snout into which taxpaying consenting adult citizens can get married?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

I will probably get an infarction for typing this but I think a church has every right to refuse to wed same sex partners. And if they do then go find someplace that does. They already approved same sex marriages...when will the gay community be satisfied?

Are there any instances of Georgia preachers ever being forced to marry anybody they didn't want to?

If not, why is the government sticking its big snout into when and to whom consenting adult taxpaying citizens can get married?

This is big government run amok and the absolute opposite of conservative principles.

[Atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by arjay57

It would certainly lose a lot of credibility as a fair and sensible place.

I have never heard of Georgia preachers being forced to marry anybody they didn't want to.

So why is the government sticking its big snout into which taxpaying consenting adult citizens can get married?

Wow, arjay I actually agree with you on this one. The preachers are not being force to marry anyone; therefore I see no need for the legislation.

[ChristopherATL]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

I will probably get an infarction for typing this but I think a church has every right to refuse to wed same sex partners. And if they do then go find someplace that does. They already approved same sex marriages...when will the gay community be satisfied?

As a gay man, speaking for myself and what I know of the LGBT community, the Pastor Protection portion of the proposed legislation is not the issue. When I was married, I only wanted people present who were truly happy for me and my husband. Besides, the church already has this constitutionally guaranteed right of not marrying anyone they do not want to.

It is the portion of the bill that says any individual or business can decide not to serve or provide products to anyone they feel is not living up to their religious values. This is equivalent to the "Whites Only" era of Jim Crow legislation in the 50's and 60's.

[stillinthesouth]

And the negative publicity continues... all this backlash over a completely unnecessary bill drafted only for political purposes by clowns who need to be voted out of office.

On the other hand, it's been educational to find out just how asinine our elected leaders are on the state level.

[BoiWonder13]

As a new resident I dearly hope that Deal is wiser than my former state Arizona's governor was back in 2010.
SB 1070 was the crap that hit the fan for our state economically and I think it "low-key" is still feeling the burn from that atrocious law today! It basically says that a cop can pull over anyone they suspect of being in the country illegal and ask for their documentation and papers w/o a motive. However being from Arizona and knowing the bigoted culture that exist at the capitol, it was more a motive to discriminate against the growing Hispanic population our state has. Jan Brewer didn't veto it and instead Signed it on national TV. I tell you, Arizona lost so much money that year its not even funny. Does Georgia really want to shoot itself in the foot?

It's gonna only do damage and promote fear here in Georgia if this law was to get passed. No corporations will want to work with GA, and it might cause the NFL to pull the (SB). as well as other Associations to rethink Atlanta as a premiere place to have the many conventions its known for worldwide!

[atler8]

Originally Posted by arjay57

It would certainly lose a lot of credibility as a fair and sensible place.

I have never heard of Georgia preachers being forced to marry anybody they didn't want to.

So why is the government sticking its big snout into which taxpaying consenting adult citizens can get married?

Great question Arjay...
The answer is that that is what the Repiublicans who completely took over the running of our state excel at doing... i.e. getting up in people's lives & personal business when it does not fit their "family values" mantra of preaching.
I nearly fell off of my chair yesterday when I saw a post on a thread related to the topic of this one and the person wrote that they had tended to vote "R" for the last 30 years because Republicans were more likely to be for personal rights.
I thought to myself, "What the heck are they talking about?" Conversely for me, in the last 30 years, the Georgia & national Republicans have driven me AWAY by getting more tied into movements that try to divide Americans through their legislation on behalf of "family values" stuff. I mean, who in the heck's standards for "family values" are the CORRECT ones & the ones that we should be using as base standards for legislation.
We can thank old Newt Gingrich for really popularizing "family values" back in the 1990's in the midst of his own dilly-dallying around in between his 2nd & 3rd marriages.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

I will probably get an infarction for typing this but I think a church has every right to refuse to wed same sex partners. And if they do then go find someplace that does. They already approved same sex marriages...when will the gay community be satisfied?

I think I'm right in saying this - churches already have the right not to marry folks, regardless of their orientation. And, I think that is fine. But, I do not think it would fine if, for example, Chick-fil-A refused to serve gay people.

[ChristopherATL]

Originally Posted by atler8

Great question Arjay...
The answer is that that is what the Repiublicans who completely took over the running of our state excel at doing... i.e. getting up in people's lives & personal business when it does not fit their "family values" mantra of preaching.
I nearly fell off of my chair yesterday when I saw a post on a thread related to the topic of this one and the person wrote that they had tended to vote "R" for the last 30 years because Republicans were more likely to be for personal rights.
I thought to myself, "What the heck are they talking about?" Conversely for me, in the last 30 years, the Georgia & national Republicans have driven me AWAY by getting more tied into movements that try to divide Americans through their legislation on behalf of "family values" stuff. I mean, who in the heck's standards for "family values" are the CORRECT ones & the ones that we should be using as base standards for legislation.
We can thank old Newt Gingrich for really popularizing "family values" back in the 1990's in the midst of his own dilly-dallying around in between his 2nd & 3rd marriages.

So very true! It's unfortunate because on some economic policy, I could see considering voting for a republican. But basic civil rights create many one issue voters that trumps every other policy ideal.

I recently saw a video from a republican candidate, which I am trying to find and link to, who states that as the country's racial demographic changes, the GOP will need to stop standing solely for straight, white Christian American values. From his own mouth, he said if they do they will be unable to win any elections. When you alienate the LGBT, Latino, AA, Muslim and progressive communities...all you have left is a group that is declining in numbers at a very fast rate.

It's a great time to be alive!