One of the most powerful entertainment companies in the world, Disney, who owns the rights to Marvel film productions, has added another super power to it’s arsenal. In addition to swinging through cities via spider web and crushing villains with emerald super strength, Disney superheroes are fighting back against some controversial anti-gay legislation pending in Georgia.
The Free Exercise Protection Act is on deck to be passed into Georgia state law. Basically, this law gives Georgia businesses and service providers the right to refuse business transactions with customers who “violate their religious beliefs.” For example, religious leaders can refuse to officiate same sex marriages or faith based companies can refuse the sale of their products to the LGBT community.
So what the heck does this have to do with Disney? Well, turns out Georgia is known as “the Hollywood of the south,” meaning big name movie production goes down in the peach state. Thanks to large tax breaks and big payouts for popular films such as The Avengers and Captain America, the creators of L.A’s superheroes take their dirty work down south. However, according to an article published in the L.A Times, upon hearing the news of this new legislation, Disney has threatened to cease all movie making in Georgia. Disney maintains that they are firm in their belief that civil liberties are worth more than saving a few bucks on movie production.
This puts some intense pressure on Georgia’s government. They are now being forced to decide what is considered discriminatory while a huge contributor to their economy, (billions of dollars, actually) hangs in the balance. Some may argue that Disney is using their huge cult following and dense fortunes to blackmail Georgia into making legislative decisions. Maybe, but not without legitimate cause. The Free Exercise Protection Act argues that forcing businesses to conduct transactions that directly conflict with their religious convictions is equally discriminatory. Disney counteracts this by saying legalizing any type of discrimination is something they want no part of.
A variety of fortune 500 companies have weighed in on the issue in addition to Disney. In light of such a controversial issue, it is difficult to decide if entertainment companies and the like should be allowed to have such a large influence on government policy. Both sides of the issue shout “discrimination!” so how does Georgia decide?
Well, it may be considered human nature to defend beliefs to which we are passionate about. Many other governmental issues across the country in addition to LGBT rights have faced both intense scrutiny and persistent advocacy. From an observatory perspective, it seems that creating more laws often inspires people to act out due to the obligations they feel they have to their personal morals, values, or religious beliefs. Said obligations often compel people who, if the issue had not received so much publicity, may have otherwise been silent. The bigger question may be whether or not the specific rights of faith based businesses should even be discussed on the state level at all. In an effort to prevent further uproar from society, issues such as these may be better off handled on a case by case basis.
Whether or not proposing such legislation against the LGBT community is appropriate or not, there is no question that Disney is making a bold statement. In a world where money often equals power, it may be considered quite noble that Disney is risking such a huge loss in business benefit to protect what they believe to be essential social liberties. According to an article in the Washington Post, Georgia is due to make their decision in early May. In less than one month Marvel may have its next villain; Georgia’s governor.
