A group of African-American pastors is expressing their disappointment that Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed legislation designed to protect religious freedom.
Gov. Deal vetoed HB 757 which would have allowed ministers to refuse to
perform same-sex marriages and allowed faith-based businesses to refuse
to provide services for events which would contradict their religious
beliefs.
According to Christian Today, Deal claimed that he did not object to
the Pastor Protection Act, passed by the House of Representatives. He
did, however, object to parts of HB 757.
"The other versions of the bill, however, contained language that could
give rise to state-sanctioned discrimination. I did have problems with
that and made my concerns known as did many other individuals and
organisations, including some within the faith-based community," he said
in a statement.
The African-American ministers, including former Atlanta Fire
Department Chief Kelvin Cochran, who was fired over his views on
same-sex marriage, say that Deal caved in to pressure from big
businesses which threatened to boycott Georgia if Deal didn’t veto the
bill.
"We were totally, highly offended and angered to hear that the governor
turned his back on faith-based organisations, the faith-based
leadership in the state," said Pastor Garland Hunt, senior pastor at The
Father’s House in Norcross, Georgia.
Hunt added that the pastors had met with Deal several times “and he
promised us that he would sign legislation that was basically similar to
what was presented to him so we feel like he didn’t keep his word.”
"We love the Lord and we're going to stand for our religious freedom
and we love our religious freedom just as much as anybody else," the
pastors stated in a press conference.
They are now urging the Georgia legislature to override the Gov.’s veto.
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