The Walt Disney Co. recently joined a growing chorus of businesses urging Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto of a bill that would have sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians. But Disney went a step further, warning it would stop film production in the state if the bill was signed into law. That was a serious risk to Georgia, a state that has spent years trying to build a film and television production business through generous tax credits.
The Walt Disney Co. recently joined a growing chorus of businesses urging Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto of a bill that would have sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians. But Disney went a step further, warning it would stop film production in the state if the bill was signed into law. That was a serious risk to Georgia, a state that has spent years trying to build a film and television production business through generous tax credits.
Term-limited Deal announced his veto of the measure Monday.
Disney’s leadership is commendable and its threat powerful. The world’s largest entertainment company, Disney (along with its subsidiary, Marvel Studio) has shot numerous big-budget films in the state. One Disney production alone — “Ant Man” — spent an estimated $106 million in Georgia and employed 3,579 residents. It is right Disney spoke up on behalf of its LGBT employees and their families, many of whom might have to relocate to Georgia or work on location there for months at time, and who shouldn’t have to fear discrimination. State officials in Georgia are eager to lure more lucrative film and TV productions; Deal even visited Los Angeles last year to pitch Georgia’s tax credit program. But Disney’s potential boycott, along with criticism from the Motion Picture Association of America and other major entertainment companies, signaled that Georgia needs to do more than offer financial incentives — it needs to safeguard the rights of LGBT people.
Proponents of Georgia’s Free Exercise Protection Act argued it is needed to protect religious liberty after the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. The bill would have allowed faith-based groups to deny services to people whose behavior violates the group’s religious beliefs, and let them fire employees who aren’t in accord with their beliefs. The bill also would have limited the state from interfering with a person’s exercise of religion, which gay rights activists said would have invited people to deny services or discriminate against same-sex couples.
Money talks, apparently. So it’s heartening when corporations — such as Disney — choose to use their position and power to advocate for civil rights and equality.
— Los Angeles Times