Gov. Nathan Deal defended Tuesday his veto of a so-called religious freedom bill while challenging legislators to put aside lingering displeasure to pass important legislation next year.
“Although I have a difference of opinion with many in the General Assembly with regard to RFRA, I think and hope they would be big enough to look at every issue on their merits,” Gov. Deal told reporters after addressing a transportation conference at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Deal vetoed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act last month aimed at strengthening legal protections for opponents of gay marriage. Similar legislation in North Carolina, albeit with a highly controversial transgender bathroom provision, has roiled the state and led major companies like PayPal to cancel expansion plans.
In Georgia, Deal faced an onslaught of criticism and vows of retribution from GOP conservatives who supported the bill. The governor's prized education reform package, expected to occupy much of the General Assembly's time next session, is possibly in jeopardy.
The governor, again, requested legislators put aside their grievances.
“Some people hold grudges (but) let me ask them this: Instead of just having rhetoric why don’t we have examples?” Deal said. “Nobody has ever yet provided me one clear example of anything that has occurred in the state of Georgia that the RFRA bill would have prevented.”
Meanwhile, the governor said he has not personally contacted PayPal or other companies that have soured on North Carolina due to the state's embrace of the religious freedom legislation deemed discriminatory by many.
But “I think they know Georgia is open for business,” Deal said.
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