The dangerous Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Wednesday passed a vote of the House subcommittee and move forward for a vote Thursday.
The religious right, having largely failed to ban same-sex couples from marrying, have settled upon a new method of discrimination: so-called “religious freedom” laws. When Republican Governor Mike Pence today signs Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law (in a shameful, cowardly, private, no press or public ceremony) 20 states across the nation will have enacted RFRAs to “protect” Christians from having to do business with LGBT people.Â
That of course is the true goal of RFRAs: end non-discrimination lawsuits against supposed people of faith who believe Jesus would have told a same-sex couple to bake their own damn wedding cake, Jesus would have told a same-sex couple to pick their own flowers, Jesus would not even break bread – much less serve it to a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person.
And of course, they’re wrong.
Regardless, the faithful are quickly moving to make Georgia the 21st state with a law offering a license to discriminate against gay people.
Republican State Senator Josh McKoon (photo), recently labeled “The Cruelest Republican in Georgia,” earlier this month successfully passed his Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, SB129, through the Senate, and has been pushing to get the House to pass it as well.
On Wednesday evening, a House subcommittee approved the anti-gay legislation, and forwarded it to the house Judiciary Committee, where it will receive a vote today.
“Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur) and Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Smyrna) proposed multiple amendments to the bill that would have added protections for the LGBT community, but each of them were voted down,” the Georgia Voice reported Wednesday night.
“It is so clear from the testimony that was provided yesterday and the ongoing conversations of supporters of SB 129 and the complete rejection of every amendments to keep LGBT discrimination from happening that this bill is meant to provide a vehicle and a means to discriminate against LGBT Georgians,†Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham said Wednesday evening. “I applaud the efforts of Mary Margaret Oliver and Stacey Evans to try and ensure that the bill would not be used to discriminate, and I’m incredibly disappointed in Rep. Beth Beskin, who time and time again voted to support discrimination against the LGBT community.â€
The bill does have the full support of Fox News contributor, RedState editor-in-chief and Georgia resident Erick Erickson, who recently wrote that the only difference between gay people and ISIS is the killing part.
Opponents of the bill were quick to voice their concern:
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