"Gov. Nathan Deal said he will veto the 'religious liberty' bill that triggered a wave of criticism from gay rights groups and business leaders..."

He said it "doesn’t reflect the character of our state or the character of its people" and: "Their efforts to purge this bill of any possibility that it would allow or encourage discrimination illustrates how difficult it is to legislate something that is best left to the broad protections of the First Amendment...."

But the First Amendment doesn't give "broad protections" against neutral generally applicable laws that burden religion. The idea of exempting for those with religious beliefs from following the law that applies to everyone else comes not from the First Amendment, but from statutes like the one Bill Clinton signed in 1993 and the one Nathan Deal is vetoing today.