Over 400 business and corporations including the National Football League have threatened to boycott Atlanta if Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signs new anti-gay marriage legislation into law.
The “Pastor Protection Act” unanimously passed the Georgia legislature leaving only Gov. Deal’s signature to make it a law.
The legislation protects pastors and ministers from marrying gay couples.
An earlier, more controversial version of the bill included protections for all businesses that refused to participate in gay ceremonies such as baking cakes or wedding photography.
But 400 corporations such as Apple, Google and UPS are putting pressure to bear on the governor not to sign the bill even in its present, diluted form.
Gov. Deal cited bible scripture after the legislation passed the Georgia House last month.
“What the New Testament teaches us is that Jesus reached out to those who were considered the outcasts, the ones that did not conform to the religious societies’ view of the world,” Deal said.
But over the weekend, Deal indicated he was in favor of signing the legislation in its current form.
The NFL objects to the bill in any form if it protects the rights of Christians who believe traditional marriage is between one man and one woman.
According to Fox News, Atlanta losing the Super Bowl would not be enough of an economic impact for Gov. Deal to veto the bill.
“When one looks back at the actual data, we don’t find bumps of hundreds of millions of dollars,” sports economist Victor Matheson told FOXBusiness.com.
