Deal made the right decision

Gov. Nathan Deal has spent most of his six years in office pushing the economic vitality of this state. Now he's getting hammered for protecting that legacy and putting it above what many see as protection of religious liberties against an onslaught — mainly brought on by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

Regardless of how you feel about the issue, House Bill 757 would have protected those already protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The bill had ridiculous, unnecessary language that would have allowed Georgia citizens not to attend ceremonies they wished not to attend. Certainly a freedom we already have, and it would have allowed religious organizations on the pretext of their faith, to not hire and to fire employees who didn't believe — whatever that means.

Gov. Deal did understand that the state stood to lose its standing with many Fortune 500 companies, the NFL and major movie production studios. Were they bluffing? Ask Indiana. It passed a similar measure to the one the governor has said he would veto, and an economic knife was thrust into the state's stomach.

Gov. Deal was right to read the rest of the First Amendment and to veto this onerous legislation.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 9:08 PM with the headline "Deal made the right decision ."