Time Warner joined numerous other companies on Thursday in urging Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) to veto a bill that would keep the government from taking action against groups funded by taxpayer dollars with “a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction” that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
“At Time Warner, diversity in all its forms is core to our value system and to the success of our business. We strongly oppose the discriminatory language and intent of Georgia’s pending religious liberty bill, which clearly violates the values and principles of inclusion and the ability of all people to live and work free from discrimination,” the company said in a Thursday morning statement.
“All of our divisions – HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner – have business interests in Georgia, but none more than Turner, an active participant in the Georgia Prospers campaign, a coalition of business leaders committed to a Georgia that welcomes all people,” the statement continues. “Georgia bill HB 757 is in contradiction to this campaign, to the values we hold dear, and to the type of workplace we guarantee to our employees. We urge Governor Deal to exercise his veto.”
Time Warner joins Disney, Marvel and Salesforce in opposing the bill.
The bill, which was passed by the Georgia legislature earlier this month, would allow ministers to refuse to perform marriages for same-sex couples and would let religious institutions refuse to rent out facilities for ceremonies that violate their beliefs. The legislation also would allow religious groups to refuse to serve gay individuals, citing their views on marriage, and could allow those groups to fire individuals who do not share their religious beliefs.
