3. Social-issue crossfire
Restaurateurs in Georgia are waiting to see if Governor Nathan Deal will sign or veto a piece of legislation that could cost them significant tourism business. It’s a measure that’s already dragged the industry into controversy in several other states.
Ironically, Georgia’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act has no direct bearing on restaurants. Pushed through the legislature by religious conservatives, the bill allows clergymen to refuse to marry same-sex couples, a defiance of last year’s Supreme Court decision granting marriage as a right to all. Faith-based businesses can also refuse service or employment to anyone whose lifestyle conflicts with their religious tenets. The decoded upshot: They would not have to deal with gay people.
Restaurants are on the sidelines of the conflict, but they stand to be affected nonetheless. The law could discourage convention bookings and other sizeable tourism events. A gamers’ convention reportedly has been cancelled already, and the NFL has said it may drop Atlanta as one of the cities under consideration for the 2019 or 2020 Super Bowl.
The law takes its name from a piece of federal legislation that was passed in 1993 to protect religious organizations from undue government interference. Twenty-one states have passed their own Religious Freedom Restoration Act, though virtually none go as far as Georgia’s version in permitting discrimination against gays. However, several states have tried or are still trying to enact similar provisions.