Right-wing Georgia lawmakers are furious that Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed their anti-LGBT "religious liberty" bill and they are on the warpath, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Minutes after Gov. Nathan Deal said he would veto the ‘religious liberty’ bill that reached his desk less than two weeks ago, state Sen. Mike Crane called on his fellow lawmakers to overturn the governor’s decision.
Crane, a Newnan Republican running for Congress, said Deal’s announcement Monday “is another example of how the political class is bought and paid for by corporations and lobbyists. Rather than standing up and protecting the 1st Amendment, the political class would rather sacrifice those rights to keep the money flowing.”
Actually, Deal ran and was elected on a pro-business platform, so he was just staying true to the promise he made to voters. The business community showed almost unanimous opposition to the bill.
Though some lawmakers are already talking about bringing up the bill next year, for those like Crane and Sen. Bill Heath, no action is too soon and no price too high for their "special rights" special session, which will cost taxpayers $41,000 per day. It remains to be seen, however, whether they can rally the support of the three-fifths of lawmakers required to call the session.
That would require 108 members of the House and 34 members of the Senate to call themselves back in. House Bill 757, the source of all this hubbub, received the votes of 104 of the 118 Republican members of the Georgia House and of 37 of the 39 Republican members of the Senate.
The veto itself would require two-thirds support from both the House and Senate, an even steeper climb than what’s needed to call the special session.