The governor of Georgia caved to "corporate blackmail" when he vetoed a bill protecting clergy and other faith-based groups from being forced to go against their beliefs, Richard Land, president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, tells
Newsmax TV.
"Let's assume that this is not what Gov. [Nathan] Deal really believes and he was pressured…. The values of Georgia were superseded by the values of multinational corporations," Land said Wednesday on "Newsmax Prime" with J.D. Hayworth.
"I need to tell the governor our values and our freedoms are not for sale. I'm proud that in the state where I live, in North Carolina, our governor stepped up to the plate and defended North Carolinians and defended North Carolina's bedrock values, our religious freedom and freedom of conscience."
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The Georgia law, passed by the GOP-controlled legislature, said ministers couldn’t be forced to perform same-sex weddings and faith-based groups could not be made to hire employees whose beliefs run counter to theirs.
Many companies warned of financial peril for The Peach State if Deal signed the bill, including the NFL, which said Atlanta's bid for a future Super Bowl would be in jeopardy.
Land, whose religious school is a leading Christian college near Charlotte, accused Deal of bowing to "intimidation" and to "basically, corporate blackmail."
In the Tar Heel State, Gov.
Pat McCrory stood firm, inking a law that prohibits local anti-discrimination ordinances and forces transgender people to use restrooms matching their birth certificates.
His state now faces financial repercussions, including one from Hollywood director Rob Reiner, director of "A Few Good Men" and "When Harry Met Sally,’ who vows not to film there as long as the law exists.
Land said it’s a case of political correctness running amok.
"The American College of Pediatricians has just come out and said that gender-based materials and talking about gender transformation is child abuse. We're born with a sex. That's a biological fact. A gender identity is a social construct," Land told Hayworth.
"This is political correctness run amok and discrimination is a two-way street. As the governor… said after he signed the bill into law that overturned what the Charlotte City Council had done, he said nobody has any less rights and any less protections now than they did before Charlotte passed this law.
"We went back to the status quo ante, the way it was before where you have the same bedrock protections and the same bedrock liberties."
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