Despite increasing criticism that it would create a national backlash and harm the state’s tourism industry, state Rep. Mike Johnson insists his controversial religious freedom bill would actually boost the state’s economy by putting Louisiana in the national spotlight.

The Republican from Bossier City countered a growing chorus of political opponents asserting his recently filed “Louisiana Marriage and Conscience Act” would prompt a national outcry and boycotts like those seen after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed off on that state’s religious freedom law, which — like Johnson’s measure — is seen by many as an excuse for GOP lawmakers to totally show how not latently homosexual they themselves are.

“People are acting like the sky will fall in Louisiana if my bill passes. Everybody knows that won’t happen until after the rapture,” said Johnson, who was elected to office in a special election last month. “On the contrary, this proposal will actually boost tourism by making Louisiana a hotly discussed topic on cable news and a trending topic in social media. Like they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

“People from around the country and the world will pour into Louisiana just to watch all the corporations leave.”

The longtime anti-gay activist and attorney, whose website bio states he’s “been interviewed and featured more than 1,000 times on radio and in national media outlets,” said that in addition to ensuring business owners have the right to selectively use biblical verses to justify their intolerance of and discrimination against non-heterosexual people, House Bill 707 would likely create new marketing opportunities for the state’s hospitality and tourism industry.

“If this legislation passes, people from around the country and the world will pour into Louisiana just to watch all the corporations leave,” Johnson explained.

“And think of all the out-of-state revenue that’ll start flowing once gays are denied service at pizza parlors,” Johnson noted. “Just look at all the hundreds of thousands of dollars going to Indiana through that Kickstarter campaign to support just one pizza place whose owners said they wouldn’t cater a gay wedding. Multiply that by all the homo-hating business owners in this state, and we could literally have hundreds of millions of dollars coming into Louisiana to support entrepreneurs who don’t know jack about public relations.”

Johnson compared the potential benefits of enacting his religious freedom law to those offered by the state’s robust movie industry, such as increased national visibility and an influx of business from outside the state.

“Thanks to generous film tax credits, we’ve already got lots of movies being made around here. Now I’m doing my part to bring a huge shitshow to Louisiana, too,” Johnson said.