ATLANTA — Georgia Senate Republicans approved a new version of the controversial religious freedom bill on Tuesday.
It’s been nine years since former Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the controversial measure.
Republicans insist the Religious Freedom Act, or RFRA, protects people of faith from unwarranted government intrusion.
Democrats say it will allow people to discriminate against people they don’t like under the legal cover of religious freedom.
Acworth republican state Sen. Ed Setzler, the same lawmaker who wrote the heartbeat abortion law, introduced the latest version of RFRA, even as outside the Senate chamber, hundreds of LGBTQ supporters rallied in support of equality legislation.
“Every Georgian should be free to exercise their faith without unfair federal, state and local government intrusion,” Setzler told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot.
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But Democrats pushed back hard, reminding Senators that Georgia does not have an underlying civil rights law which would protect Georgians from discrimination.
“It would legalize discrimination against Georgians across the state without any protection,” State Sen. RaShaun Kemp said.
Under RFRA, Atlanta Democratic state Sen. Jason Estevez said people could discriminate against anyone or any group under the legal cover of religious freedom.
“A restaurant owner can deny someone based on their religious belief. A Jewish couple could be denied a wedding venue based on the owner’s religious belief, and I think that’s wrong,” Estevez said.
Setzler’s bill would prevent what he calls government intrusion into people’s religious beliefs, protecting them from government laws that he says might infringe upon them.
He insists this law is different than the one vetoed by Deal in 2016.
“It’s not a RFRA-plus. It’s not a RFRA-minus. It’s just a basic RFRA. It’s the exact language in the federal statute. It protects people from unfair treatment from the federal government, and it provides the same level of protection from state and local governments and that’s all it does,” Setzler said.
This bill now heads to the House where it could have a tougher road passing.
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