Walt Disney Co. and its subsidiary Marvel are threatening to stop making movies in Georgia if the state decides to pass the Free Exercise Protection Act, which would allow Georgians to decline service for same-sex weddings in order to protect their religious beliefs from being violated.
"Disney and Marvel are inclusive companies, and although we have had great experiences filming in Georgia, we will plan to take our business elsewhere should any legislation allowing discriminatory practices be signed into state law," a Disney spokesman said in a statement provided to The Washington Times.
Their statement came after Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin urged Hollywood to stop doing business in Georgia once the religious liberty bill is passed.
Naturally, he was pleased with Disney and Marvel's move. "We applaud Disney and Marvel for standing up for fairness and equality by sending a strong warning to Governor Deal," he said in a statement. "It's appalling that anti-LGBT activists in Georgia are trying to pass legislation creating an explicit right to discriminate against LGBT Americans."
Georgia's Republican Governor Nathan Deal has not yet indicated whether he will sign the bill or not. What he requested was that lawmakers make certain changes on the legislation first before passing it. Deal also believes that there is a middle ground that Christians and LGBT activists can agree upon.
"I know there are a lot of Georgians who feel like this is a necessary step for us to take," Deal said during deliberations over the bill. "I would hope that in the process of these last few days, we can keep in mind the concerns of the faith-based community, which I believe can be protected without setting up the situation where we could be accused of allowing or encouraging discrimination."
Supporters of the bill argue it has already been "gutted" to appease critics.
Authorities said Georgia could lose up to $6 billion if 15 companies that are threatening to take business elsewhere follow through with their word.
"It is unfortunate that the Georgia legislature caved to pressure from big business and special interests to water down their weakened bill even further. Other states must be vigilant against such cultural cronyism," the Daily Signal's Ryan Anderson wrote.
Deal has until May 3 to decide whether or not to sign the bill.
