Editorial: Kudos to Disney for taking on LGBT discrimination in Georgia

The Walt Disney Co. this week joined a growing chorus of businesses urging Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to veto a bill that would sanction discrimination against gays and lesbians. But Disney went a step further, warning that it would stop film production in the state if the bill is signed into law. That’s a serious risk to Georgia, a state that has spent years trying to build a film and television production business through generous tax credits.

Disney’s leadership is commendable and its threat is powerful. The world’s largest entertainment company, Disney (along with its subsidiary, Marvel Studio) has shot numerous big-budget films in the state. One Disney production alone — “Ant Man” — spent an estimated $106 million in Georgia and employed 3,579 residents. It is right that Disney should speak up on behalf of its LGBT employees and their families, many of whom may have to relocate to Georgia or work on location there for months at time, and who shouldn’t have to fear discrimination. State officials in Georgia are eager to lure more lucrative film and TV productions; Deal even visited Los Angeles last year to pitch Georgia’s tax credit program. But Disney’s potential boycott, along with criticism from the Motion Picture Assn. of America and other major entertainment companies, should be a signal that Georgia needs to do more than offer financial incentives — it needs to safeguard the rights of LGBT people.

Proponents of Georgia’s Free Exercise Protection Act argue that it is needed to protect religious liberty after the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. The bill would allow faith-based groups to deny services to people whose behavior violates the group’s religious beliefs, and would let them fire employees who aren’t in accord with their beliefs. The bill also limits the state from interfering with a person’s exercise of religion, which gay rights activists say would invite people to deny services or discriminate against same-sex couples. The law shouldn’t allow religion to be used as a cloak for discrimination.

But so far, lawmakers in Georgia haven’t heeded those concerns. Legislators in Indiana and Arkansas passed similar bills last year. But after major corporations, including Apple and Wal-Mart, criticized the legislation and other groups threatened boycotts, Arkansas’ governor vetoed the bill and Indiana’s governor offered an amendment to address discrimination concerns. Money talks, apparently. So it’s heartening when corporations choose to use their position and power to advocate for civil rights and equality.

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