Legalized discrimination bill is WRONG for Georgia - Call to Action! (Atlanta: Home Depot, tax)

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by arjay57

This bill seems like a solution in search of a problem. Have any preachers been forced to marry gay couples when they didn't want to?

Originally Posted by waronxmas

It's obvious to anyone that this was written with denying marriage rights for LBGTQ couples in a way that wasn't overtly discriminatory for that particular group. Why do it this way? After the Supreme Court ruling, LBGTQ people are now a protected class and thus can no longer have exclusionary laws written to keep them from having equal rights.

But here is the door that opens with this non-specific language: Someone can decided to do this against anyone that doesn't confirm to their "deeply held religious beliefs" because it cannot be quantified. And before anyone says that there is language in religious texts that specifically forbade homosexuality, there is also text that specifically condones slavery and segregation.

This is why this law has no business passing, and why religion and government should be two different things. Besides, since marriage equality became law last year, has any church been forced to do a gay marriage? Like seriously, is this even a problem that needs solving?

While definitely not popular with progressives, moderates, much of the state's business community and LGBT advocates, last year's Supreme Court ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry in all 50 states has inspired much anxiety, fear and angst amongst Georgia's electorally dominant community of social and cultural conservatives.

To social and cultural conservatives, the legalization of same-sex marriage in a political environment in which social conservatives have long dominated is a cultural crisis and a problem that needs to solved and pushed back against immediately with the force of law.

After the threats that Georgia's booming film and television industry could be irreparably harmed were House Bill 757 to be signed into law in the highly controversial form that it passed the Georgia Senate on Friday, Governor Deal felt the need to speak out on the process as an attempt to keep this controversy from harming the both the film/TV industry that Deal has put a lot of political capital and resources into building up during his administration and the state's business climate at-large.

But with so much anxiety and angst amongst the religious, socially and culturally conservative factions that dominate the state's electoral process and political scene, and with 2016 being an election year for state senators and representatives and a presidential election year in which Georgia will play a meaningful role in picking the Republican Party's nominee during the SEC Super Tuesday primary on March 1st, the legislature is likely going to have to pass some type of controversial religious freedom legislation to assuage the fears, anxiety and outright angst of the state's deeply conservative electorate.

At this point it is likely not a matter of whether there will be some kind of public relations fallout from the passage into law of religious liberty legislation, but a matter of how much public relations fallout there will be from the passage of religious liberty legislation which a large and influential chunk of the state's deeply conservative electorate is demanding be passed.

To most of those who live inside the 5-county core of the Atlanta metro region (particularly to those who inside the I-285 Perimeter), these controversial religious liberty bills may understandably seem like a massive liability to the state's reputation and economic well-being. But to many (if not most) of those who live outside of the I-285 Perimeter and throughout much of the rest of what is a deeply conservative state, the anti same-sex religious liberty legislation that is currently up for consideration in the Georgia General Assembly is an issue of critical importance that will signal a pushback against the social and cultural changes that the nation is experiencing....Social and cultural changes which social and cultural conservatives are deeply uncomfortable with.

[atler8]

Originally Posted by IntentionsRGood

You just want to force Christians to bake your cakes and take your wedding photos. Why don't you harass Muslim bakers?

Are we reduced now to low brow arguments here? I won't call this one "silly" though because to do so might be borderline rude.

As if there still was any doubt remaining as to your earlier claims that you are a lesbian, this passage of yours put the final nail through that thought.

[atler8]

Originally Posted by IntentionsRGood

And where are gay people when African Americans march to protest the unjust killing of unarmed black men by the police? *Crickets* Gays have never shown support for black causes, but you are quick to throw black people in the mix whenever you don't get your way. Sit down silly boy.

Oh really....?
I'm sure that if gay people took part in such demonstrations that they would be totally visible as being gay because they never can blend into the overall community.
And surely, if they were demonstrating, they'd either wear a badge that read "Gay" just to let everyone know. Or failing that, they'd be telling everyone nearby their sexual identity all the while throughout the race-related civil rights demonstration... Right.... sarcasm..

And who should sit down?

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

To most of those who live inside the 5-county core of the Atlanta metro region (particularly to those who inside the I-285 Perimeter), these controversial religious liberty bills may understandably seem like a massive liability to the state's reputation and economic well-being. But to many (if not most) of those who live outside of the I-285 Perimeter and throughout much of the rest of what is a deeply conservative state, the anti same-sex religious liberty legislation that is currently up for consideration in the Georgia General Assembly is an issue of critical importance that will signal a pushback against the social and cultural changes that the nation is experiencing....Social and cultural changes which social and cultural conservatives are deeply uncomfortable with.

And the people of those five counties, or nearly 60% of the State's population, have to suffer the backwardness of those goobers downstate. Can't we breakaway and form our own State already?!

[earthlyfather]

How many people does this telecom company, 373K(?), employ? Think this is effort to sensationalize, emotionalize. If this is bad, it eill fail on its own

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by pollen

It's a common misconception that gay people are rich. Studies have shown that on average, straight people make more money than gay people. For example, 15.3% of straight adult men in the US are classified as being below the poverty line, but it's 20.5% for gay men. It's much worse if you look just at African Americans (gay blacks are twice as likely to be in poverty than straight blacks). There are plenty of peer-reviewed studies showing this.

oh well, when it comes to wealth its the Jews, Gays, then everyone else. Nothing wrong with being wealthy. Maybe gays just do a good job looking rich. Anyway Ill still say talk with wallet.

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by IntentionsRGood

Exactly. It's only discrimination when it's one of them. But they willfully and maliciously discriminate against Christians, even going as far as to target Christian shop owners to run them out of business.

I'll agree with this somewhat, but can't take you seriously as a whole due to your other comments. You seem to be going back and forth without a real argument or facts.

[Cameron H]

Originally Posted by 0nyxStation

oh well, when it comes to wealth its the Jews, Gays, then everyone else.

Yeah, all those Jewish South Asians. You certainly win today's prize for ignorant stereotypes, though. Congrats!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...usehold_income

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

And the people of those five counties, or nearly 60% of the State's population, have to suffer the backwardness of those goobers downstate. Can't we breakaway and form our own State already?!

Well, to be more exact, the population of the 5-county core of the Atlanta metro region (Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties) is probably closer to being about 35-40% of the population. The population of the entire 29-county Atlanta metropolitan area is probably close to being about 60% of the state's population. The population of the entire 39-county Atlanta metro region is about over 60% of the state's population.

These statistical distinctions are important to note because there is much of the population of those 5 core metro counties (and particularly the electorate outside of the I-285 Perimeter...though nowhere near as much of the population of those 5 core counties as in the past) that supports this type of high-profile controversial legislative action on these types of polarizing social issues.

The farther one gets outside of the I-285 Perimeter into the conservative outer suburbs and exurbs of the Atlanta metro region, the more likely one is likely to find support for this type of controversial legislation while still in the 29-county Atlanta metro area.

It is basically just the area inside and just outside of the I-285 Perimeter in the 5-county core of the Atlanta metro area (along with a few small urban islands around the rest of the state in areas like Savannah and Athens) where one is likely to find the most opposition to this type of controversial religious liberty.

Outside of those aforementioned areas inside and just outside the I-285 Perimeter and inside progressive cities like Savannah and Athens, this religious liberty issue (no matter how pre-fabricated it may be to the relatively large cluster of progressives and moderates in metro Atlanta) seems to resonate very strongly with a deeply conservative electorate and a deeply conservative population.

Like the generally progressive/moderate city of Phoenix in the deeply conservative state of Arizona or like generally and/or somewhat progressive/moderate major cities in the deeply conservative state of Texas, Atlanta just happens to be a progressive city and a moderate metro area that just happens to be located in a deeply conservative state (Georgia) that is located in a deeply conservative part of the country.

Despite being a generally progressive city and overall somewhat generally moderate metro area, Atlanta's location in a deeply conservative state in a deeply conservative part of the country means that seemingly unnecessary controversies over polarizing political, social and cultural issues are going to arise on a not-infrequent basis.

Social issues are a major concern to the evangelicals and social conservatives that dominate the political climate and electoral process in a state like Georgia. So those who may consider themselves to be social progressives and moderates have to be prepared to forcefully stake out their positions on these controversial issues from time to time on the occasions that these wedge social issue controversies arise and flare-up into major political and public relations showdowns.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by earthlyfather

How many people does this telecom company, 373K(?), employ? Think this is effort to sensationalize, emotionalize. If this is bad, it eill fail on its own

Probably 20. I'm against the bill, but it's clear that they are a nobody company looking for free publicity. You notice no major corporations or film studios have thrown out the flag yet. That's because they have influence and are working this from the inside. Goober Gov might actually do the right thing and kill this bill because of that.