A bill that would increase religious privileges in Georgia, but which opponents claim may do so at the expense of LGBTQ people, passed a significant step toward becoming law on Thursday.
By a vote of 33-19, the Georgia Senate approved Senate Bill 180, the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The vote took place on Crossover Day, which is usually the last day that legislation in the House or Senate may pass before the session’s end in late March.
SB 180 aims to strengthen religious privileges by limiting the authority of local and state governments to enact laws that are in conflict with religious beliefs.
Supporters of the bill claim that it resembles a 1993 federal law that should provide the same privileges to religious individuals on both the state and local levels. Gov. Brian Kemp has long promised to sign into law a bill that resembles the federal version.
“All this bill does is it creates a balancing test to measure a person’s right to practice their faith against the government’s legitimate powers to accomplish its state functions,” said Rep. Ed Setzler, the bill’s chief sponsor, from the Senate floor on Thursday.
“Never have RFRA statutes been used to bolster or justify the parade of horribles you’re about to hear today,” he continued.
Republicans have attempted and failed to pass similar policy for more than ten years, including in 2016, when the legislature passed a religious freedom bill but the then-Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, vetoed it. The Republican Party has taken a centrist turn in recent years, and the bill’s reappearance is reflective of this.
State Sen. Kim Jackson voiced her opposition to SB 180 in the well of the Georgia Senate on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)‘It doesn’t just affect LGBTQ families, it affects yours’
Kim Jackson, a state senator from the Democrat party, argued that the bill may have a negative effect on her family and others. Jackson is a priest, her wife is an imam, and they have a baby.
Jackson fears that the passing of the bill will cause them to face discrimination at her son’s daycare, a doctor’s office, and other establishments.
“All because they have a religious objection to me and my household,” she said.
“This doesn’t just affect my family, it doesn’t just affect LGBTQ families, it affects yours,” she added.
Gloria Butler, the head of the Democratic Senate Minority, also objected to the bill. She earlier this year announced her looming retirement.
She noted that during her quarter-century in office, politicians have attempted to pass this act.
“This bill simply keeps trying,” she said, “regardless of how many times it fails, dies in committee, or the governor has the authority to veto it. This policy makes living in Georgia worse. People want to live their lives, work and play in harmony, and not have the opportunity to face discrimination at every turn. However, we are telling LGBTQ people and their families to leave our state now.”
Business groups, LGBTQ groups oppose the bill
Despite the opposition of the state’s two largest business organizations, the bill was passed in the Senate. In a joint statement earlier on Thursday, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber both urged the legislature to refrain from passing it.
“Georgia has benefited from a productive working relationship between the business community and our elected officials,” according to the statement. “Georgia’s robust economy attracts businesses and has served our members well, and we oppose any initiatives, including SB 180, that would undermine the state’s solid reputation we have built up.”
Following the bill’s passage, LGBTQ groups in Georgia and nationally issued statements.
Georgia Equality stated in a statement that “Georgia is one of only three states without a statewide non-discrimination law.” “Without a statewide civil rights law, SB 180 could create a broad license to discriminate on the basis of faith with no necessary protections against discrimination based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, country of origin, etc.”
According to the group, similar laws in other states have been used to deny access to preventative services, including HIV prevention and other preventative services, under the Affordable Care Act. They said such laws have also been used to discriminate in child welfare and adoptions, marriage-related services, employment, and public accommodations.
“This is not hypothetical; in other states, RFRAs are already causing actual harm,” they claimed.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, SB 180 could lead to LGBTQ Georgians, women, religious minorities, and other groups being denied housing or service.
“Religious freedom is already deeply embedded in the U.S. and Georgia constitutions, and it must not be used as a weapon if it is violated as a weapon,” said HRC Georgia state director Bentley Hudgins. “Georgia House of Representatives legislators should quickly reject this discriminatory legislation.”
The bill will now go to the House for consideration. The legislative session of this year ends on March 28.
