Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday vetoed the state's controversial "religious liberty" bill, helping Atlanta's bid to host the Super Bowl in either 2019 or 2020 at the Falcons' new, $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set to open next summer.
The legislation would have allowed clergy to refuse performing gay marriages and would have protected people who refuse to attend the ceremonies. Churches and affiliated religious groups also could have declined to serve or hire someone based on their faith.
Deal, a Republican, rejected House Bill 757 on Monday, saying: "I have examined the protections that this bill proposes to provide to the faith based community and I can find no examples of any of those circumstances occurring in our state.