The Republican-backed push to pass “religious liberty” legislation seems back on a fast-track Wednesday after a House committee cleared the legislation, a week after two GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in a surprise move that blocked it.
This time, Republicans had the votes to muscle the controversial proposal through the House Judiciary Committee without changes sought by critics to include antidiscrimination protections.
Republican state Rep. Deborah Silcox, who represents a swing Sandy Springs district, was the lone GOP member to vote against the measure on Wednesday. It could reach a House vote for final passage before the April 4 end of the legislative session.
Silcox and Republican state Rep. Stan Gunter, R-Blairsville, both objected to the legislation last week, joining with the panel’s Democrats to temporarily stall it. Gunter, who chairs the panel, didn’t join the 9-6 vote on it this week.
Religious conservatives in Georgia have long pushed to pass the legislation, modeled after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, to provide an extra layer of legal protection for people of faith from government interference.
The measure would limit the government’s ability to pass or enforce laws that conflict with religious beliefs.
But critics have framed the legislation as a thinly veiled effort to sanction discrimination against LGBTQ+ Georgians and warned that its passage could bring steep economic backlash. They say it’s unnecessary, pointing out that the First Amendment and other constitutional safeguards already protect religious freedom.
The measure’s sponsors have been unable to cite a specific example where the measure was needed to reverse a restriction imposed on the faithful.
During an hourslong hearing last week, Mike Griffin of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, a longtime advocate for the proposal, said while there were no current examples where the law was needed in the state that’s only because leaders have so far upheld those rights — something that’s not guaranteed in the future.
”My point is, you want to put up a sprinkler system before you have a fire.”
Once the center of debate under the Gold Dome, other culture wars issues such as transgender restrictions and immigration crackdowns inspired by President Donald Trump have taken up more oxygen.
But supporters are confident the measure, which cleared the Senate along party lines, will reach Kemp’s desk next week. And GOP state Sen. Ed Setzler, the bill’s sponsor, said he’s worked with the governor’s aides to craft a measure that he’s signaled he would sign.
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