Fox News pundit claims it’s ‘open season on Christians’ as Georgia’s anti-gay law is blocked
Fox News pundit Todd Starnes has claimed that it’s “open season” on Christians in Georgia after the state’s governor blocked an anti-LGBT law.
The state’s Republican-controlled legislature has greenlit HB 757, which would ban the government from taking action against anyone who discriminates against LGBT people – as long as they do so based on a sincerely held “religious or moral conviction”. The law would apply even in adoption agencies or homeless shelters – which opponents say is a gross violation of human rights.
Warner Bros and Disney were among the big businesses to threaten to boycott the state if the law was allowed to pass – and Republican Governor Nathan Deal yesterday confirmed that he will veto it, blocking it from coming into effect.
He said: “Georgia is a welcoming state. It is full of loving, kind and generous people – and that is what we should want.”
However, Fox News host Todd Starnes is not Happy (or Doc or Sleepy or Bashful or Sneezy) about the turnaround – declaring it “open season” on Christians in Georgia.
Mr Starnes, pictured below, claimed: “Gov. Deal was more interested in protecting the Almighty Dollar than he was protecting followers of the Almighty” by listening to the many corporations who condemned the law, despite proponents claiming it would be welcome by corporations.
He continued: “Gov. Deal’s veto was an act of political cowardice and political expedience. He betrayed the good Christian people of Georgia and demonstrated once again why voters are so frustrated with the Republican Party.”
“Instead of bending over for big business, the governor should’ve given Disney and all those other anti-Christian corporate bullies the heave-ho.”
In Georgia, Republicans are currently considering trying to override Governor Deal’s veto – but it is politically unlikely.
A boycott is ongoing in North Carolina, where the state’s Governor maintains support of similar anti-LGBT legislation.
A legal challenge was launched in the state yesterday, after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit on the issue.