For the second year in a row, the Georgia General Assembly has introduced legislation-- HB 218 and SB 129-- that would allow citizens, corporations, and privately-owned businesses to discriminate on the basis of their “strongly held religious beliefs.” The bills, though intended to target LGBTQ residents of the state, could potentially lead to unsafe situations for a wide range of individuals, including women, children, religious minorities, communities of color, or anyone else who an individual might want to target for discrimination. 

Similar legislation was introduced in 2014, but failed to pass due to widespread opposition from the business community in Georgia, including Delta Airlines, the state's largest private employer. Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta and the previous chair of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, spoke out publicly against the bill, recognizing the negative impact of such legislation on the state. A statement put out by Delta Airlines at the time read, "If passed into law, these proposals would cause significant harm to many people and will result in job losses. They would also violate Delta's core values of mutual respect and dignity."

This year however, Mr. Anderson and other business leaders have chosen to stay on the sidelines, and have so far stayed relatively silent on the issue. As these bills advance through the Georgia General Assembly, we need to push CEOs like Rich Anderson to use their influence under the Gold Dome to stand up against this harmful legislation.