The Atlanta Chamber Journal

Chamber: Don’t Like Gay marriage? Tough!
BY Mia Suporta DeHomos
ACJ Staff Writer

Don't expect the Atlanta business community to sit on the sidelines in the days leading up to a vote on whether to amend the Georgia Constitution to explicitly ban gay marriages.

Not only do executives believe that such an amendment would be bad for business, they also believe it sends the wrong message to the rest of the nation and world, and more importantly, to the people of Georgia.

"If we let the people of Georgia and the General Assembly do this, the next thing you know they’ll start thinking they can make their own decisions on the state flag, control of water resources, whether to finance MARTA and other stuff like that," said Jake Barley, assistant deputy secretary to the chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, “The bottom line is that we here in the Atlanta Big House call the shots for Georgia, and those hicks down on the plantation might as well get used to it.”

But if it's up to Simone Derriere, the managing partner of the Alshewt & DeBird law firm, the business community will take a pro-active stance on this issue. Derriere’s boss’ brother-in-law serves on the Atlanta chamber's executive committee.

"The whole amendment in my view is nothing other than a calculated effort to tell some people that they don't belong here," Derriere said. "This is not a gay issue. It has everything to do with tolerance, and living and letting live. Basically, we’re not going to tolerate these lower Georgia hicks trying to make their own decisions. We’re here to stay whether they want us here or not."

If such an amendment passes, Derriere believes "it will make it harder to get the most perverted rich people to come to Georgia and Atlanta. I don't think it helps Georgia's image when it’s competing against New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to be perceived as a place that allows rural hicks to call the shots or have any input. If you don’t drive a Mercedes or Lexus SUV and if you don’t live in a Buckhead condo, you have no business meddling in the government of this state."

There is also the tangible issue that more and more firms are offering benefits to same-sex couples, and there is ostensibly some concern that a broadly-worded amendment could affect those benefits, Barley and Derriere said.

"We don’t really give a rat’s backside about the homos and their benefits, this is all about who’s running the show," Derriere said.

"This amendment represents the worst, mean-spirited, narrow-minded thinking, and we’re not going to tolerate having folks outside of Atlanta thinking they have a say in state government. Where do these hayseeds get such wacky ideas? They need to know their place and stay in it."