Gov. Nathan Deal (R-GA)

Gov. Nathan Deal (R-GA)

“As close as a state can stay to the original federal language, the safer you are,” said Deal, who voted for the federal legislation while a member of Congress in the 1990s. “It has been interpreted in the courts, so by having that model you narrow some of the arguments about what it does or does not do.” He called the anti-discrimination clause “the most important” addition. “And that is a delicate thing to do,” he said. “There’s been so much hyperbole. It’s hard to identify what can you say without saying too much, what can you say without saying too little, and what will people read into either version.”

While Indiana and Arkansas have been in the headlines as they've passed discriminatory "religious freedom" bills and then had to walk them partway back, the Georgia legislature let a similar bill die quietly this week—or at least go into a prolonged coma, since it could come back in the next legislative session. But if it does, Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is suggesting that it doesn't have to create the controversy of Indiana and Arkansas:That's not exactly a strong "don't discriminate because discrimination is bad" statement, but if the threat of lost business and reputation is what it takes to keep more states from passing laws allowing anti-gay discrimination in the name of religion, so be it.