Gov. Nathan Deal's legacy-defining vetoes

In a prior post I gave Gov. Nathan Deal two cheers for his veto of the Georgia HB-2, the so-called religious freedom law, that arguably would (some say would not) give legal cover for private businesses to discriminate against LGBT clients.

I withheld the third cheer, because it seemed to me that Deal's action was right but his motivation was more pragmatic than principled:  to avoid the kind of economic and reputational hit the state would take for creating such a backward social context (witness what's happened in North Carolina since their governor did sign an even worse bill).

But now I'm rethinking my position and am inclined to give the governor a bit more credit for courage and maturity.   That change comes partly from his subsequent veto of the campus carry gun law as well.

My opinion was also influenced by what Jay Bookman pointed out in his AJC column on Sunday, May 8th:   that Deal cast these vetoes knowing he would pay a political price.  He still has things he wants to accomplish that need legislative support to enact, and many Republicans are angry at him for these two vetoes.   There's also the school reform constitutional amendment that will be on the November ballot that is a signature issue for him.  He will need widespread voter support for that to pass.

In addition to the effect on his agenda, however, Bookman had praise for the eloquence and reasoning of Deal's veto message on the gun bill, which quotes both Thomas Jefferson and Antonin Scalia to support his decision about guns on college campuses.  Bookman writes:

"The claim that there's a constitutional right to carry weapons on a college campus is fraudulent.  It is a political fabrication, with no basis in the Constitution or our nation's history.  Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, writing in Heller vs. D.C., the most pro-gun Supreme Court opinion in U.S. history, made that as clear as possible:

'Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on . . . laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings.' 

"In his veto message, Deal summoned even more powerful voices to speak on his behalf.   In 1824, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and four other leading men met at the soon-to-open University of Virginia as the school's Board of Visitors.   During that meeting they approved by-laws for student conduct, including a provision stating that 'No student shall, within the precincts of the university, introduce, keep or use . . . weapons or arms of any kind, or gunpowder."

And Gov. Deal added in his own words:

"The approval of these specific prohibitions relating to 'campus carry' by the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the principal author of the United States Constitution should not only dispel any vestige of constitutional privilege but should illustrate that having college campuses free of weapons has great historical precedent."

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Thank you, Gov. Deal.  You have earned a new level of respect for going against the will of your Republican colleagues and doing what you felt was right, even though it may hurt you politically.   On the first veto, you could say that it would have been an economic disaster for the state.  But on this one, that was less a factor and therefore less of a political cover. 

This is not an overall flip to endorse Gov. Deal (or his school takeover amendment).  He still has much to answer for in my book.  But on these two vetoes I give him credit and appreciation.

Ralph