Religious "freedom to discriminate" bills in Georgia:

Part 7 of ten parts

2016-MAR: Still more negative reactions
to the anti-gay bill HB 757, the "Free
Exercise Protection Act."

In this web site, the acronym "LGBT" refers to the
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual community.

This topic is continued from the previous essay.

Still more negative reactions to HB 757:

• Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is currently being built in downtown Atlanta, GA, is one of the locations under active consideration to host Superbowl LIV. It would be held at the end of the 2019 season during 2020-FEB. It is also one of the finalists for Superbowl LV. Some sports commentators feel that Atlanta is a shoo-in for one of the Superbowls, if the bill does not become law. ₃

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• On MAR-23, the Walt Disney Co. and its subsidiary Marvel Studios said that they would stop making movies in Georgia if the bill becomes law. Their most recent movie photographed in the state was Captain America: Civil War. Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 is currently in production there.
  
  
• Michael King broadcast the following segment over WXIA-TV, Channel 11 in Atlanta on MAR-19:

    ₃

• All of the divisions of Time Warner Inc. -- HBO, Warner Brothers, Turner, CNN, TBS and TNT -- have business interests in Georgia. The parent company issued a statement on MAR-24:

"We strongly oppose the discriminatory language and intent of Georgia's pending religious liberty bill which clearly violates the values and principles of inclusion and the ability of all people to live and work free from discrimination." ₁

Referring to the Georgia Prospers campaign, in which Time Warner participates, the statement said that the bill:

"... is in contradiction to this campaign, to the values we hold dear, and to the type of workplace we guarantee to our employees."

• Viacom is the parent company of Paramount, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VHL, Spike, and MTV. Viacom recently photographed Being Mary Jane in Georgia. They issued a statement:

  "Viacom is proud to champion diversity and acceptance, which are core values of our company. We have enjoyed doing business in Georgia for many years and we urge Governor Deal to continue to resist and reject the patently discriminatory laws being proposed."

• The cable channel Starz is shooting its new season of Survivor's Remorse in Georgia. Their statement said:

  "Starz is an inclusionary company and strongly opposes discrimination in any form, against anyone. As a proud production partner in Georgia for several years, we urge Governor Deal to show the same leadership he has in the past and reject this divisive legislation."

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• released a statement saying:

  "On behalf of 21st Century Fox’s many creative partners and colleagues who choose to film their projects in the beautiful state of Georgia, we join the growing coalition of businesses in asking Governor Deal to veto this bill."

• Lionsgate's statement said:

  "Lionsgate has deep roots in the State of Georgia in our film, television and location-based entertainment businesses. As a Company committed to diversity, inclusiveness and tolerance, we urge the Governor of Georgia to veto the deplorable and regressive legislation (House Bill 757) that has been sent to him. We take pride in our relationship with the people of Georgia and want to ensure that we can continue to offer our employees and talent there a working environment consistent with our policies and values."

• CBS's statement said:

  "CBS Corporation is committed to an environment that values diversity and inclusion throughout the company and in all our business practices. The discriminatory language in Georgia’s proposed religious liberty bill conflicts with these core ethics and values. We call on Governor Deal to exercise his veto power."

• MGM's statement said that they are:

  "... unequivocally committed to inclusion, diversity and tolerance in all circumstances."

• Weinstein Company's statement threatened to move its Lee Daniels - directed biopic of Richard Pryor. Start of filming is scheduled to begin later in 2016. It will star Oprah, Eddie Murphy, Kate Hudson, Mike Epps and Tracy Morgan.
  
  
• TWC's statement said:

  "We have plans in place to begin filming Lee Daniels’ new film in Georgia later this year, but will move the production if this unlawful bill is enacted. We hope Governor Deal will veto bill HB 757 and not allow sanctioned bigotry to become law in Georgia."

• Other major companies, including AMC Networks, Intel, Dow Chemical, Salesforce, Live Nation, Sony, Discovery, Comcast, and NBC Universal have issued similar statements.

This topic continues in the next essay.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Michaela Ross & Gerry Smith, "Time Warner, Big Atlanta Employer, Opposes Georgia Anti-Gay Bill," Bloomberg, 2016-MAR-24, at: http://www.bloomberg.com/
2. Aaron Gould Sheinin and Kristina Torres, et al., "Sides argue about impact Georgia ‘religious liberty’ bill would have," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2016-MAR-21, at: http://www.myajc.com/
3. Michael King, "Passage of Religious Freedom Bill could jeopardize Atlanta Super Bowl," 11 Alive (WXIA, Atlanta).

How you may have arrived here:

Copyright © 2016 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
First posted: 2016-MAR-14
Latest update: 2016-MAR-25
Author: B.A. Robinson

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