By Bob Allen
As lawmakers fought over religious freedom legislation in Arkansas and Indiana, time ran out in Georgia on a similar measure that divided opinion among the state’s Baptists.
The 2015 General Assembly of Georgia adjourned April 2 without vote on the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a flashpoint for debate over anti-gay discrimination and religious liberty that erupted after Atlanta’s fire chief was fired in January for writing a Christian-themed book denouncing homosexuality.
Senate Bill 129, which would have guaranteed that a person’s civil right to exercise of religion “shall not be burdened” unless the government can prove a compelling interest, stalled March 26 in the House Judiciary Committee.
Supporters tabled the bill after the committee voted 9-8 in favor of a surprise amendment clarifying that the law could not be used as a means to discriminate against gays and lesbians. Mike Griffin, public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Convention, illustrated a March 26 Facebook posting with an image of a gutted catfish.
“This is what happened to the Ga Religious Freedom Restoration Act!” Griffin wrote. “It was gutted like a catfish by the House Judiciary Committee! Rep Mike Jacobs made a motion to amend the bill with language that would have nullified protection that people of faith needed from government intrusion.”
The same day Southern Baptist leaders in Georgia attended a Jan. 13 rally at the state capitol in support of fired Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran for expressing his religious views in a way his boss found inappropriate, a different group of Baptists gathered in the same building to oppose a bill preventing “government overreach” in matters of religious expression.
Later more than 250 religious leaders from faith traditions including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship signed a statement opposing plans by some Georgia lawmakers to introduce religious liberty legislation similar to a bill in Arizona vetoed by Gov. Jan Brewer establishing protections for private businesses that deny service to gays for religious reasons.
“We are relieved and heartened that Georgia state legislators have heard our call to back away from legislation that would have legalized discrimination in the name of religion,” Georgia Clergy United Against Discrimination said in a statement April 3. “Freedom of religion is one of our most fundamental rights as Americans, but religious freedom does not give us the right to harm or exclude others.”
The coalition, coordinated by Faith in Public Life, called death of the Georgia RFRA “a victory for all Georgians.”
“Today we have chosen to embrace a spirit of love and self-discipline over and against a spirit of division and exclusion,” the statement said. “We’ve chosen to work for the common good, rather than sow seeds of intolerance.”
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a revised religious liberty bill April 2 more similar to the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 than earlier legislation that opponents said would sanction discrimination against gays. The same day Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a “fix” to a religious liberty bill he signed earlier that set off a national protest from major businesses including the Indianapolis-based NCAA.
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