We were wrong - we didn't think he'd actually do it, we thought he had too much common sense or at least enough good advisors around him to tell him "no" - but today the Governor of the State of Georgia, a man who pointed a gun at a teenager in one of his campaign ads and said he needed an extra large pickup truck in case he had to round up some "illegals" himself, and then as the incumbent Secretary of State proceeded to oversee the very election in which he was running and purged the voting roles of hundreds if not thousands of minority and low-income voters, yeah that guy, today he signed a law banning abortions after the 6th week of pregnancy - an interval before which most women even know they're pregnant.  

The drone metal of the band Sunn O))) is about the only thing that fits our current mood.

Georgia, if anything, is about making money.  It's arguably one of the most mercantile states in the Union, and it likes to avoid controversy if that controversy will interfere with the smooth flow of capitalism.  By and large, we avoided the flag controversies of the 90s, quickly and quietly removing the Confederate stripes from the state flag by Gubernatorial order without a messy referendum or vote to drag the state through the news.  Even though we have probably the world's largest Confederate memorial in Stone Mountain, we've by and large avoided the showdowns and protests over removal  of statues and memorials that have rocked other Southern states.  And even though we've had Republican governors for some 17 years now, no one's passed any statewide anti-gay or pro-discrimination legislation, at least not yet.

Georgia relies heavily on a huge convention and hospitality industry to keep the cash flowing, and it doesn't want to have any boycotts or controversies interfering with the flow of money.  We rely on major sporting events like SEC championship games, Super Bowls, and NCAA basketball tournaments to generate even more revenue.  And we have a huge, literally billion-dollar film and motion picture industry here (did you know that Avengers: Endgame was shot entirely in Atlanta?).  The last thing the power brokers in this state want is a needless controversy to generate negative backlash, result in any kind of boycott, or otherwise make the cash registers stop ringing.

But the Governor couldn't help himself and went ahead and did it anyway.  He signed the bill, and already my cell phone has exploded with emails calling for petitions, boycotts, and, of course, financial contributions.

In a statement, Stacey Abrams (the woman who lost the election rigged by the Governor) said, "Bad policies like the forced pregnancy bill are a direct result of voter suppression.  If leaders can silence Georgians' voices at the ballot box, they can ignore Georgians' voices when in office.   We will fight back in court and at the voting booth."

Even before the bill was signed, the Writers Guild of America released a statement warning that the bill could cause production crews for television and movies to leave the state.  "The law would make Georgia an inhospitable place for those in the film and television industry to work," they warned. "If the Georgia Legislature and Governor Kemp make H.B. 481 law, it is entirely possible that many of those in our industry will either want to leave the state or decide not to bring productions there," they added.  "Such is the potential cost of a blatant attack on every woman's right to control her own body."

More than 40 prominent actors, lead by actor and activist Alyssa Milano, signed a letter urging film companies to leave Georgia because of the bill.

To be sure, as of today, abortion is still legal here.  Much of the Forced Pregnancy Bill won't go into effect for a while, if at all, thanks to the inevitable lawsuits being launched.  But while those challenges work their way through the courts, Georgia will be subject to criticism and contempt, a laughing-stock to the more-civilized portions of the world, and conventions and sporting events will find venues in other states for their events, films and television shows will be produced elsewhere, and we will lose money.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp: Bad for business, bad for policy, bad for women!