Governor Nathan Deal Sides with Those Using the Government to Punish Churches and Ministries, says Family Research Council

News provided by

Mar 28, 2016, 04:51 ET

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement after Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced his veto of HB 757, a bill providing modest protections for religious freedom:

"The Devil has gone down to Georgia again, but this time it was in the form of big business and cowardly politicians.

"Governor Deal's veto of a watered down religious liberty bill, which would have barely afforded pastors and priests protections from the state over their beliefs over natural marriage, reveals how LGBT activists and their allies in big business are now not even willing to allow religious freedom within the four walls of a church. It's disappointing that only one day after Easter Sunday, Governor Deal announces the veto of a modest bill that would provide protections for churches threatened by government discrimination in the wake of the Supreme Court's redefinition of marriage.

"No person or nonprofit should lose tax exempt status, face fines, lose a professional license or be punished by the government simply for believing what President Obama believed just a few years ago, that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. State coercion of faith-based organizations and their millions of adherents for the sake of a radical ideological agenda – all in the name of 'freedom' – is an affront not just to Georgians but to all Americans," Perkins concluded.

Go to www.freetobelieve.com for more information on Americans targeted by the government for following their beliefs

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150422/200566LOGO

SOURCE Family Research Council